Obama and FEMA Leave Americans to Die in Kentucky

I guess what with Kentucky being a red state the heartless Barack Obama and FEMA can't be bothered helping the suffering Americans trying to cope with a massive ice storm that has left them powerless.

In some parts of rural Kentucky, they're getting water the old-fashioned way — with pails from a creek. There's not room for one more sleeping bag on the shelter floor. The creative are flushing their toilets with melted snow.

At least 42 people have died, including 11 in Kentucky, and conditions are worsening in many places days after an ice storm knocked out power to 1.3 million customers from the Plains to the East Coast. About a million people were still without electric Friday, and with no hope that the lights will come back on soon, small communities are frantically struggling to help their residents.

One county put it bluntly: It can't.

"We're asking people to pack a suitcase and head south and find a motel if they have the means, because we can't service everybody in our shelter," said Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown, who oversees about 9,000 people, many of whom are sleeping in the town's elementary school.

Local officials were growing angry with what they said was a lack of help from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In Grayson County, about 80 miles southwest of Louisville, Emergency Management Director Randell Smith said the 25 National Guardsmen who have responded have no chain saws to clear fallen trees.

"We've got people out in some areas we haven't even visited yet," Smith said. "We don't even know that they're alive."

Smith said FEMA has been a no-show so far.

"I'm not saying we can't handle it; we'll handle it," Smith said. "But it would have made life a lot easier" if FEMA had reached the county sooner, he said.

FEMA spokeswoman Mary Hudak said some FEMA personnel already are in Kentucky working in the state's emergency operations center and that more will be arriving in coming days. Hudak said FEMA also has shipped to 50 to 100 generators to the state to supply electricity to facilities like hospitals, nursing homes, and water treatment plants.

Can you imagine the media reaction if this were George W. Bush? Heck, we're still hearing about Hurricane Katrina nearly four years later.

Is Obama even aware what's going on in Kentucky? I know he's very busy between trashing Wall Street and Rush Limbaugh, but could he at least acknowledge these poor folks and get them some help?

Instapundit and Jawa Report link. Thanks!

Apparently Obama hates white people and wants them to die.

Also check out Obama Dozed, People Froze. Even in Australia they express more concern than the American media.

'We've Been Waiting Four Years for the Extradition of the Biggest Terrorist in Human History'

Unless Barack Obama takes complete leave of his senses, you'll be waiting a lot longer, crazy man.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urged U.S. President Barack Obama to extradite an anti-Castro Cuban exile wanted in Venezuela who the administration of George W. Bush had refused to hand over.

Extradition of former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles, accused of plotting the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jet that killed 73 people, could improve bilateral ties that have for years been frayed by a war of words between the Bush administration and Venezuela.

"Send us the terrorist Posada Carriles," Chavez said in a televised speech late on Friday. "We've been waiting four years for the extradition of the biggest terrorist in human history."

The Bush administration had refused to hand over Posada after he was arrested in the United States for entering the country illegally, sparking harsh criticism of a double standard in Washington's war on terror.

Posada, who was involved in the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion to topple Cuban leader Fidel Castro, was jailed for two years in Texas on immigration charges but released in 2007. He now lives in Miami.

Oh sure, we'll have improved ties if Obama loses his mind and hands Carriles over. I'm sure that'll go over well.

IRS Commish Visits Tax Cheat Rangel

Unfortunately he didn't come and frogmarch him off to jail. It certainly doesn't send a good message when the head honcho of the Internal Revenue Service shares a stage with a notorious tax cheat and slobbers all over him.

Rumor has it Douglas Shulman will be appearing later with Tim Geithner and Tom Daschle.

The IRS's top man came to Harlem - and shared a stage with an accused tax cheat, Rep. Charles Rangel.

Commissioner Douglas Shulman and other officials yesterday urged New Yorkers to get the most out of their tax returns.

Asked about appearing with a pol who's being probed for failing to pay taxes, Shulman said, "He's one of the leaders in this country on tax policy issues. I work closely with him every day, and I'm honored to be on this stage with him."

'TELL OBAMA TO STOP BOMBING PAKISTAN AND MAKE ISRAEL STOP BOMBING GAZA!!!!'

The psychotic Roseanne Barr has some really sound advice for Bruce Springsteen. Assuming Springsteen is dumb enough to flush his career before a worldwide audience, here's what the idiot offers as advice.

The Boss oughta demand during his half-time appearance this Sunday that Obama stop bombing Pakistan (which even President Karzai of Afghanistan has requested) and stop funding the Israeli war machine!

TELL OBAMA TO STOP BOMBING PAKISTAN AND MAKE ISRAEL STOP BOMBING GAZA!!!!

It's highly unlikely Springsteen would pay any mind to this idiocy and he'll be wise to keep to performing and leave the politics for another day. The NFL has made it clear they'd like halftime and pregame performers stick to music and leave the politics off stage.

'I Don't Know Why the President Would Take Him On'

The absolute last person I thought would come to Rush Limbaugh's defense is John McCain. Rush has had no love lost for the Arizona senator all these years, but apparently McCain realizes well who has the ear of the GOP constituency.

Add John McCain to the legion of "dittoheads" sticking up for conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh in the wake of President Obama's lecturing Republicans to quit listening to his top-rated radio program.

Asked yesterday why Obama would make such a warning, McCain replied: "I don't know why he would do that."

"Mr. Limbaugh is a voice of a significant portion of our conservative movement in America," the Arizona senator, last year's Republican presidential nominee, told Fox News yesterday.

"He has a very wide viewing audience, he is entitled to his views, and he has a lot of people who listen very carefully to him," McCain said.

"I don't know why the president would take him on. He's part of the political landscape, and he plays a role."

Obama has badly miscalculated his move to take on the radio behemoth. The thought he could marginalize the most popular conservative in the country has only brought more attention to Limbaugh and again set him up to be a difference-maker in the midterm election, just as he was in 1994. Obama clearly hasn't learned from history.

His problem.

Long Lost Lincoln

Check out the photo of President Abraham Lincoln from 1860 taken at the Illinois state capitol. It's eerie seeing such a quality photo taken nearly 150 years ago and before he became the 16th President of the United States.

Seated by a window in the Illinois state Capitol in 1860, a beardless Abraham Lincoln held still 25 seconds for a classic campaign portrait of the soon-to-be president. It was undoubtedly a personal favorite.

"That looks better and expresses me better than any I have ever seen," Lincoln said in a letter to photographer Alexander Hesler. "If it pleases the people, I am satisfied."

To mark the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth on Feb. 12, the long-lost positive transparency of this photograph (above) goes on display beginning tomorrow at the George Eastman House museum of photography in Rochester.

It was sent there for repair in December 2006 by a Midwestern collector of Lincoln materials who didn't realize he owned a national treasure. He has declined to be identified.

"This is the closest you will ever get to seeing Lincoln, short of putting your eyeballs on the man himself," said Grant Romer, the museum's director of photograph conservation.

In 1880, images of the slain Civil War leader were in high demand. Hesler's wet-plate collodion negative was used to create a high-definition, silver-gelatin interpositive - a new-technology format from which several thousand prints were generated.

In 1933, during shipment by parcel post to St. Louis, the original glass plate was accidentally broken and ended up as a shattered artifact in the Smithsonian Institution's vault. The 8-by-10-inch clone - evidently in the same package and similarly damaged - disappeared until its recent resurrection.

The three-quarter profile taken on June 3, 1860 is striking in its clarity and tonal range.

Having co-opted nearly all things Lincoln, expect Barack Obama to sit down soon for a replica of this photo.

Begala: Rush ‘A Corpulent Drug Addict With an AM Radio Talk Show’ (VIDEO)

Commenting on Michael Steele’s recent win to be the RNC Chair, Obama Advisor Paul “the forehead” Begala calls Rush a drug addict. Oh and as a bonus, “Bush laziest President ever”. OK … remind me one more time about “Hope n Change”? Just askin that’s all. Rush must be getting to them. Oh, and Sarah Palin? She’s “bitter and divisive.” And just what does that make you, Mr. Forehead?



Begala is demonstrating the ultimate in hypocrisy. His buttboy, Obama, is an ADMITTED cocaine user, so now tell us again, “forehead”… what is Rush again? Hmmm…

STFU

Nick “Pop” Popaditch on Red Eye (VIDEO)

Ret. USMC Gunnery Sgt., Nick Popaditch was on Red Eye last night, and he talked about his book and website, "Once a Marine." Gunny Pop is a true hero, enlisting in the Marines in 1986. He's got a powerful story to tell, and I was so pleased to see him on as a guest last night.



Gunny was in Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the battle for Fallujah, Gunny was hit in the head by an RPG, and lost his right eye. He's got a very cool prosthetic eye, although I'm sure he'd like to have his real eye back, but he's got a gold Marine Corps. eagle emblem emblazoned on that prosthesis.

Good stuff! God bless ya, Gunny. I hope to see more of you on TV soon. America needs to see more of our troops, and I couldn't think of a more cool guy to represent our military men and women than Gunny.

Condoleeza Rice on The View (VIDEO)

Yesterday, Condoleeza Rice appeared on The View. Dr. Rice maintained total class the whole time, even when the sea cow, Joy Behar, kept trying to poke her with words like “Katrina,” “Bush,” “Warmonger,” blah blah and more blah. Not surprisingly, Dr. Rice didn’t fall for any of it.



I’m telling you, Condoleeza is one class act. Joy Behar should be thankful she was graced with her presence.

Joy is an ungrateful and lunatic beyotch, and obviously self-loathing

Barack Orders Pentagon To Reduce Budget

Not quite the 25% Barney Frank was looking for but it definitely tells you what his priorities are and how he will pursue the war on terror. Late tonight comes word that he has directed the Pentagon to reduce it's budget for 2010 by at least 10%.

So while he can spend trillions to combat STD's, build golf courses, and prop up Hollywood, national security seems to be low on the priority list. Liberals like Code Pink no doubt are going to be thrilled by this turn of events.

A senior US defense official tells Fox tonight that the Joint Chiefs have been asked to cut the Pentagon's budget request for FY 2010 defense budget by more than 10 percent - about 55 billion dollars.

Sleep tight America, there may not be too many days left or nights that you can.

Surprise! Puff Daschle Another Obama Tax Cheat

Maybe Tom Daschle is who Bob Woodward was referring to.

ABC News has learned that the nomination of former Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to be President Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services has hit a traffic snarl on its way through the Senate Finance Committee.

The controversy deals with a car and driver lent to Daschle by a wealthy Democratic friend, a chauffeur service the former senator used for years without declaring it on his taxes.

It remains an open question as to whether this is a "speed bump," as a Democratic Senate ally of Daschle put it, or something more damaging.

After being defeated in his 2004 re-election campaign to the Senate, Daschle in 2005 became a consultant and chairman of the Executive Advisory Board at InterMedia Advisors.

Based in New York City, InterMedia Advisors is a private equity firm founded in part by longtime Daschle friend and Democratic fundraiserLeo Hindery, the former president of the YES network (the Yankees' and Devils' broadcast network).

That same year he began his professional relationship with InterMedia 2005, Daschle began using the services of Hindery's car and driver.

The Cadillac and driver were never part of Daschle's official compensation package at InterMedia but Mr. Daschle -- who as Senate majority leader enjoyed the use of a car and driver at taxpayer expense -- didn't declare their services on his income taxes, as tax laws require.

Oops.

Change!

H/T Hot Air headlines.

But wait, there's more.

Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of Health and Human Services, paid about $140,000 in back taxes and interest after questions surfaced during the vetting of his nomination, according to documents being prepared by the Senate Finance Committee.

$140,000 in back taxes?

Of course, this present no problem for Obama.

The White House has acknowledged that former Sen. Tom Daschle, President Obama's nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, had "some tax issues," which, the administration says, have been resolved and shouldn't bar his confirmation as secretary.

That amount is at least twice the amount in back taxes Tim Geithner paid (via Instapundit).

I must give Obama kudos for that clever Friday night news dump. He learned a lot from the Clintons.

Father of Human Clown Car Plans to Flee to Iraq

The reported excuse is to find some work 8000 miles from home, where all of a sudden he's got 14 kids on his hands.

The California woman who gave birth to octuplets filed for bankruptcy nearly two years ago and was forced to move in with her parents because of the skiddish economy -- and the grandfather of the newborns now plans to go to his native Iraq to earn money for his enlarged family, relatives said.

The woman, whose identity has been kept under wraps by the Los Angeles-area hospital where the kids were born on Monday, already has six children, who range in age from seven to two.

The grandfather of the newborns apparently plans to travel to his native Iraq to earn money for the growing family, CBS News reported.

"We have a huge house -- not here," said the man, who would only identify himself as Ed as he walked into his home near LA.

He then warned reporters camped outside the home that they are "never going to know where it is."

So far there has been no mention of who the father of the children is.

Sounds like a really stable environment for 14 kids.

NSF Researchers Apparently Researching Too Much Internet Porn

It never ceases to amaze how stupid people can be to use their work computers to surf for online porn. Don't they realize this is a primary reason people have home PC's? Of course any effort to withhold funding from the National Science Foundation will be met with huge resistance.

The ranking GOP member of the Senate Finance Committee wants Congress to reconsider new funding to the National Science Foundation amid allegations that top staffers spent long stretches of their day surfing the Internet for pornography.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to the foundation's Office of Inspector General on Tuesday seeking all documents it has related to the inappropriate use of the foundation's network.

The foundation is the major source of federal backing in fields such as mathematics, computer science and social sciences.

Grassley told The Associated Press on Thursday he wants Congress to reconsider $3 billion in NSF funding that is included in the current stimulus bill until his questions are answered.

"I think they ought to. I think they need to," he said.

The senator said he sought the information after a team of staffers led by his finance committee aide discovered numerous investigations into the misuse of the Internet by science foundation employees. The investigations were buried inside a semiannual report on NSF's activities, he said.

According to the report, one senior staff member spent as much as 20 percent of his time during a two-year period at lurid sites and in sexually explicit chat rooms. That time cost taxpayers more than $40,000, the report stated.

Other employees were also alleged to have watched, downloaded and e-mailed porn.

Stimulus, Illustrated: Yes, This Thing Really Stinks

Via Suitably Flip.

Biggest shit sandwich ever!

So how big is the resulting $1.2 trillion spending package? Big enough to dwarf any government program in history, even after adjusting for inflation. It's bigger than the New Deal and the Iraq War combined. The interest alone will be costlier than the Louisiana Purchase or going to the moon. The $18 billion in bonuses paid legally by private Wall Street firms in 2008 - decried by the President as "shameful" - is vanishingly small in comparison (smaller even than the bill's incremental food stamps expenditures).

'Good Morning, Barack Obama Elementary School!'

Pity the poor children facing a life of ignorance and stupidity.

Good morning, Barack Obama Elementary School!" That is what children attending the former Ludlum Elementary in Hempstead, New York have been hearing ever since the local school district board voted unanimously to change the name to honor the United States' first black president.

Barack Obama took office barely 10 days ago, but already schools and streets are being renamed. In the Hempstead case they didn't even wait until Inauguration Day, re-christening the school back in November -- the first in the nation to do so.

For the students, it's music to their ears, gushed school principal Jean Bligen.

They "want to keep this interest, this high belief that we can really make a difference, that we can change our community, that we can change our nation, that we can make the world a better place," Bligen said.

Good grief. I think I'm going to be ill.

Experts say this baptizing phenomenon is unique to an incoming American leader riding a wave of optimism at the beginning of his presidency.

"This is highly unusual," said Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor of popular culture.

"Usually this thing doesn't take place until the president is out of office and often until the president has actually died."

But the "hope for some kind of utopia" during the Democratic Obama administration after eight years of Republican president George W. Bush has proven too powerful for some to wait, Thompson and others said.

After four years of this disaster will these idiots change the name again?

Then we have people naming streets after this con artist.

In Opa-Locka, a majority-black Miami, Florida suburb of 25,000 people, street signs already reflect a Barack Obama Avenue. The name will be inaugurated on Presidents Day, February 16.

"We are proud of the accomplishment of the 44th president and we want to leave a legacy for the next generation to embrace, and to make sure that we embrace diversity," local commissioner Dorothy Johnson, who proposed the measure, told AFP.

St. Louis, Missouri has also named a street after the president, and in Hollywood, Florida residents Thomas and Theresa Smith embarked on a crusade to have a thoroughfare renamed Barack Obama Boulevard.

Change! Obama Hands Over $20 Million From U.S. Taxpayers to Hamas

Under the guise of "emergency relief" to the poor Gazans, Barack Obama has decided to fork over $20 million of taxpayer money to the Hamas terror gang. Idiots around the world are throwing money to Gaza, but you know a nickel of it doesn't get spent without going through Hamas, the terrorist organization that runs the hellhole.

The Obama administration on Friday made an emergency contribution of more than $20 million for urgent relief efforts in the Gaza Strip, a day after the United Nations launched a flash appeal for $613 million to help Palestinians recover from Israel's three-week military operation there.

The State Department said President Barack Obama had authorized the use of $20.3 million from the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for humanitarian assistance to the 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza.

They pretend this money will be going through the UN, but there will be no accounting for for it and you can bet a good chunk of it will go to the terrorists to buy weapons.

So Much For All That Transparency

Remember way back when? You know, somewhere around January 21 or so when all the Dems were talking a good game about having transparency in government and none was a bigger spokesperson for this then The One, The Messiah, Mr HopeandChange himself, Barack Obama.

Well, just like everything else he has said or promised to reassure those who might be skeptical of him and his socialists leanings, he has also started to backtrack on this pie in the sky talk.

The White House has silently tripled the number of Web pages that it forbids Google and other search engines from accessing.

Can't have those nasty searches of the White House web sites now, can we? There has already been so many instances of the Obama cult scrubbing websites when embarrassing items are discovered or things disappearing when his actions don't meet his words, so this shouldn't be that big a surprise to those who have been chronicling these acts.

Those bloggers drunk on hope who desperately wanted to see proof of Obama's commitment to his campaign promises of transparency and Google Government now find themselves with a difficult choice: they can either accept and acknowledge that robots.txt files are not a set of digital tea leaves through which you can read the new administration, or, if robots.txt does carry weight, they can try to come up with a way of explaining a 200 percent increase in the number of directories blocked by Obama's Web team as anything but Cheney-esque secrecy.

I wonder how much his good buddies from Google are helping them in crafting these robot blocking files?

Red Eye Meets One Eye

I don't get to stay up and watch "Red Eye", the Fox News show that comes on at 3 AM and is hosted by Greg Gutfeld, which takes an irreverent look at the news. No irreverence here though.

Very compelling interview and Greg managed to put a smile on the guys' face without being condescending nor does he exhibit the usual unease most interviewers have around military folks.

You have got to watch long enough to see his prosthetic eye.



Mr Popaditch has also written a book "Once a Marine"

There seems to be a problem with the Fox News video so here is a You Tube video about Nick Popaditch.

Running Scared: Lefty Group To Air Ad Asking 'Will You Side With Obama or Rush Limbaugh?'

All part of the endless campaign to demonize conservatives. After only ten days in office and with public approval of their crap sandwich "stimulus" sham crumbling, Obama and company are getting weak in the knees and are taking to the airwaves to try up drive a wedge between Republicans and their leader, Rush Limbaugh.

I thought King Obama was so popular and could pass legislation through the sheer magnitude of his charm and charisma? Why do these socialist groups need to buy airtime to trash the opposition?

President Obama and a key outside ally are stepping up efforts to ensure passage of the massive economic stimulus package, reaching out to Congress with both carrots and sticks.

While the president and his top aides are using all the trappings of the office, courting members through phone calls, cocktail parties, West Wing sit-downs and even a politically mixed Super Bowl party, liberal groups are dispensing with the niceties and seeking to drive a wedge between Republicans and one of the right’s most influential leaders.

Politico has learned that tomorrow Americans United for Change, a liberal group, will begin airing radio ads in three states Obama won — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Nevada — with a tough question aimed at the GOP senators there: Will you side with Obama or Rush Limbaugh?

“Every Republican member of the House chose to take Rush Limbaugh’s advice,” says the narrator after playing the conservative talk radio giant’s declaration that he hopes Obama “fails.”

“Every Republican voted with Limbaugh — and against creating 4 million new American jobs. We can understand why a extreme partisan like Rush Limbaugh wants President Obama’s Jobs program to fail — but the members of Congress elected to represent the citizens in their districts? That’s another matter. Now the Obama plan goes to the Senate, and the question is: Will our Senator"—here the ad is tailored by state to name George Voinovich in Ohio, Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania, and John Ensign in Nevada—"side with Rush Limbaugh too?”

Asked to respond, Limbaugh had a message for his party.

“Senate Republicans need to understand this is not about me,” he wrote in an email. “It is about them, about intimidating them, especially after the show of unity in House. It is about the 2010 and 2012 elections. This is an opportunity for Republicans to redefine themselves after a few years of wandering aimlessly looking for a ‘brand’ and identity.”

Rush is right and the Democrats know it. If they're so confident about this entitlement boondoggle, why not go out and promote it rather than try and frighten Americans?

Stop the Presses: Dennis Kucinich Is Making Sense

It's not often I find myself in agreement with kooky Congressman Dennis Kucinich, but he's dead right in this case.

Two members of the House of Representatives are demanding that the Mets scrap their $400-million naming-rights deal with financially troubled Citigroup because of the bank's receipt of federal bailout money.

Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Ted Poe (R-Texas) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner requesting he "dissolve" the contract with the Mets to name their stadium Citi Field. The Mets' home opener there is set for April 13.

In an interview yesterday, Kucinich said the financial behemoth is in no position to lay out cash to have its name on the Queens stadium. "It's just totally unacceptable that Citigroup should be able to spend $400 million in naming rights when they're the recipients of a massive federal bailout," he said.

Kucinich and Poe wrote that Citigroup's financial footing "has changed drastically" since the naming rights deal was struck in 2006. The agreement calls for Citigroup to pay $400 million over 20 years for the naming rights.

The Mets "are fully committed to our contract with Citigroup," said Jay Horowitz, the team's spokesman.

This will be a never-ending PR disaster for the Mets.

Wife of NFL Star Arrested for Attempted Lynching

Some women are very protective of their men, apparently. Take Tanya Seymour, wife of New England Patriot defensive end Richard Seymour. She finds out Richard may be cheating on her and what does she do? She tries to lynch the woman!

The wife of New England Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour was arrested Thursday on charges she participated in a group assault on two women early New Year’s Day, authorities said.

Tanya L. Seymour, 27, of Gadsden, is charged with two counts of second-degree lynching, Richland County sheriff’s deputies said.

Her husband is a Lower Richland graduate and three-time Super Bowl champion, who was a first-round pick out of Georgia in the 2001 NFL draft.

The victims told sheriff’s deputies they were invited to a party at a Fontana Drive home and were “assaulted and ‘jumped” about 12:30 a.m., after the women got into an argument with some people and were told to leave, according to a report.

Tanya Seymour participated in the “mob” and punched the women numerous times in the face and body, arrest affidavits say.

One victim suffered a “busted lip and contusions under her right eye and to her finger,” according to an affidavit. The other “sustained a bruise to her left arm, scratches to her face and a sprained right wrist,” according to another affidavit. That victim also had a sore scalp from one attacker pulling her hair, it says.

The victims left after the attack, the incident report says.

Both identified Seymour from a photo lineup as one of at least three involved in the attack, according to affidavits.

Mugshots here.

As Air America Collapses, Failed Pol Eyes Return to Office

With the sinking ship known as Air America ready to go under, the odious Mark Green is looking to once again run for public office in New York. You would think some people get sick of losing over and over again. Apparently Green is looking to again run for the ceremonial position of Public Advocate with hopes of of running again for Mayor of New York.

Good grief. Just go away already.

"Friends are holding interventions, telling him, 'Don't do it. It's demeaning. You'd embarrass yourself,' " said one source. This went public when philanthropist Craig Kaplan and Green got into a screaming match at a recent event. Green has been running Air America, but word is he's looking to bail out before the liberal radio syndicate - launched by Al Gore, and originally featuring Al Franken - is shut down.

I wasn't even aware Dead Air America was still operating. Which makes one wonder why it's not part of the Democrat "stimulus" plan?

'This Re-establishes the Welfare State and Creates Dependency All Over the Place'

Think that massive "stimulus" bill passed by the Democrats the other day is a boondoggle? It's worse than you thought. Remember welfare reform? Bill Clinton had to be dragged kicking and screaming to sign that bill, as Democrats pretended to be centrist. Well, that's history.

Buried deep inside the massive spending orgy that Democrats jammed through the House this week lie five words that could drastically undo two decades of welfare reforms.

The very heart of the widely applauded Welfare Reform Act of 1996 is a cap on the amount of federal cash that can be sent to states each year for welfare payments.

But, thanks to the simple phrase slipped into the legislation, the new "stimulus" bill abolishes the limits on the amount of federal money for the so-called Emergency Fund, which ships welfare cash to states.

"Out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated such sums as are necessary for payment to the Emergency Fund," Democrats wrote in Section 2101 on Page 354 of the $819 billion bill. In other words, the only limit on welfare payments would be the Treasury itself.

"This re-establishes the welfare state and creates dependency all over the place," said one startled budget analyst after reading the line.

In addition to reopening the floodgates of dependency on federal welfare programs, the change once again deepens the dependency of state governments on the federal government.

President Obama won on promises of changing the way Washington works.

Gripped by perhaps the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Americans of every political stripe opted for "change."

Sick of reckless government, sleazy lobbyists, wild spending and deep borrowing that has scuttled America's great economic engine, voters embraced Obama's promise to be "post-partisan" and usher into the government a new era of responsibility and common sense.

But his presidency isn't two weeks old, and already warning flags have gone up.

Obama is wallpapering his administration with lobbyists, installed a tax cheat to run the Treasury Department and is pushing Congress to pass a massive, wildly unaffordable "stimulus" bill loaded with pork and reckless spending that plunges Americans even deeper into debt.

With public support for this boondoggle rapidly eroding, let's hope more Americans realize what a fiasco this is and speak out against it. I notice the Democrats aren't exactly partying as if this is some great victory. Let them defend it and let's hope the Republicans, having finally found a little spine, wrap it around their necks come the midterm elections.

Hillary and Joe, Softcore Porn Edition

'The pink pantsuit, it drives me insane'

Bill has no idea

Looks like they're on much friendlier terms than a couple of years ago.

OK, just having fun, people.

Mr. Potato Head: Obama Offers Hope of 'Saner' World

A 'saner' world of course, where we willingly disarm while our enemies go nuclear, thanks in no small part to the IAEA nuclear watchdog, of course.

UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Thursday that the election of US President Barack Obama had given him hope for a "saner" world for the first time.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) praised Obama's offer of talks with Iran and, in an implicit criticism of former president George W. Bush, said isolating states was always doomed to failure.

ElBaradei told the Davos forum: "For the first time I have started to have some hope that we will start to have a world that is safer, that is saner, that is more humane."

"President Obama has said he is ready to speak to Iran without preconditions," he said during a debate that was broadcast live on US satellite channel CNN. "This is the way to go. It is long overdue."

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that his country was prepared to cooperate with the US but was also waiting for Obama to demonstrate the differences in his policies compared to those of Bush.

A change in policy would result in "a cooperative approach and reaction" in the Middle East "and Iran is not excluded from this general understanding," he said here.

"Obama has courage and should continue his courage and should say in what areas he is against the policies of president Bush," he said.

"Americans talk to the world more than enough already. Now Americans should listen. They should try to listen to the others."

Obama hasn't exactly demonstrated any ability to dispel our new subservience. He might want to start answering this smacktalk from our enemies before his finds his honeymoon over by this weekend.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner also said the Obama administration could work rapidly towards creating a world without nuclear weapons and a number of treaties could be advanced in the next six months, including a ban on nuclear weapons tests.

You can almost envision it. Obama sings a treaty banning nuclear weapons, then the next day Iran tests their nuke.

It would probably guarantee ElBaradei another Nobel Prize.

Change I Can Believe In: Deporting Criminal Aliens

Actually by definition all the illegal aliens are criminals, but we'll save that argument for another day. Now this declaration from Janet Napolitano may be bluster, but it's the kind of talk that will attract widespread support.

If you're a criminal and you're not entitled to be in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants you out of the country. Napolitano wants what she calls "criminal aliens" off American streets. She is looking at existing immigration enforcement programs to see if taxpayers are getting the most bang for their buck.

"That sounds very simple, but it's historically not been done," Napolitano said, speaking to reporters and senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Thursday.

About 113,000 criminals who were in the U.S. illegally were deported last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. The agency estimates there are now as many as 450,000 criminals in federal, state and local detention centers who are in the country illegally.

Napolitano said she wants to improve data-sharing among local, state and federal facilities. So far, there are jails in 26 counties across the country with computer systems that can talk instantly with immigration systems.

The goal, Napolitano said, is for federal immigration officials to know whether an inmate is in the country illegally immediately after he is processed into a detention facility. After the criminal serves his or her sentence, immigration officials can be ready to deport that person right away.

It's insane we're in 2009 and cannot instantly have access shared determining the status of criminals, be they American or illegals. If Napolitano and the Obama administration can make any progress and deport those 450,000, then I'm on board with it. I suspect, however, this won't be met with open arms among many in her party.

Talk is nice. Let's see action here.

Dude, Where'd My Windfall Profits Go?

For most of last year we had to listen to various pundits rail about how George W. Bush's buddies in the oil industry were fixing prices artificially high. Well, get a load of this.

Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday swung to a $2.8 billion loss, as the tumble in oil prices hurt the value of inventories that it has yet to sell. Shell said adjusting for that impact, or what it calls current cost of supplies, its profit would have dropped 28% to $4.79 billion.

Production was basically flat at 3.41 million barrels a day, but it sold oil and gas for 31% less than it did a year ago.

But I that they could fix prices and dominate the consumer? Well, if they could fix prices back then, they could fix prices now.

The fact prices dropped 31% in one year (pretty close to the drop in the stock market) shows how those blowhards like Bill 'Reilly and other "populists" are full of it.

It always boils down to supply and demand.

First Family Tackles Unemployment Rate

Obama's Chicago chef joining White House staff

The man who whipped up dinner for the Obama family in Chicago is now behind a stove in the White House.

Sam Kass, the former personal chef to the Obamas who previously worked at a chic Chicago restaurant, has been hired to supplement the first family's kitchen staff.

A spokeswoman for first lady Michelle Obama says Kass will work under executive chef Cristeta Comerford, a holdover from the Bush White House.

A Chicago native, the 28-year-old Kass trained in Europe and graduated from the University of Chicago. He's an advocate of healthy, local and sustainable food.

Kass' private chef business, Inevitable Table, says it promotes "a health lifestyle that focuses on the quality and flavor of food to encourage good eating habits."

Presumably, that includes an after-dinner smoke or two.

Via MyWay.com

Barry O Gets The MAD Magazine Treatment

Illinois School District Nixes Veterans Day

H/T to Neal Boortz who found this story.

One school district in Illinois has decided to take Veterans Day off the calendar of holidays for the future with the explanation that the students just don't understand the significance of the day.

School board members in District 300 have taken away a school holiday next year claiming students don’t understand the meaning behind the day.

Here are some questions for the school district. Who is responsible for teaching the children what this day means? If the students are not taking the day off, can we expect that instead the schools will tie in their teaching on this day to Veterans Day like they incorporate black heritage themes in the month of February to everything? Will any special recognition be given during the day to veterans? Or is the intent of the school district to completely wipe the observance of this day from the collective memory of their future community organizers?

They say they will honor veterans during class on that day but I remain skeptical.

And this is why.

A national tour featuring decorated veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan won't be stopping at Forest Lake Area High School today as planned, after school leaders abruptly canceled the visit.

Steve Massey, the school principal, said the decision to cancel was prompted by concerns that the event was becoming political rather than educational and therefore was not suitable for a public school.

MSNBC's Final Spasm of BDS: 'Bush war on Roquefort raises a stink in France'

For years it was the "so-called war on terror," but now it's "Bush's war on cheese."

Memo to MessNBC: Bush is gone.

The United States, it turns out, has declared war on Roquefort cheese.

In its final days, the Bush administration imposed a 300 percent duty on Roquefort, in effect closing off the U.S. market. Americans, it declared, will no longer get to taste the creamy concoction that, in its authentic, most glorious form, comes with an odor of wet sheep and veins of blue mold that go perfectly with rye bread and coarse red wine.

The measure, announced Jan. 13 by U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab as she headed out the door, was designed as retaliation for a European Union ban on imports of U.S. beef containing hormones. Tit for tat, and all perfectly legal under World Trade Organization rules, U.S. officials explained.

Besides, they said, Roquefort is only one of dozens of European luxury products that were attacked with high tariffs. The list includes, among other things, French truffles, Irish oatmeal, Italian sparkling water and "fatty livers of ducks and geese," which apparently is how Washington trade bureaucrats say foie gras.

We have no doubt this will be high on the Obama agenda to halt this unjust and inhumane war on cheese.

'I'm a Prisoner In My Own House!'

Hey, I'm all for letting this guy walk the streets. I'm sure some of his victims wouldn't mind having a crack at him.

He's "The Prisoner of Park Avenue."

Bernie Madoff is whining to anyone who'll listen that he's being held captive in his palatial penthouse and unable to traipse around the Big Apple as he did before being busted for running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, a source familiar with the scam artist told The Post.

"I'm a prisoner in my own house!" Madoff fumed. "I can't go anywhere! I'm stuck here all day!"

Madoff, who effectively is under house arrest as part of his $10 million bail, has been especially agitated that "he can't even go outside just to go to the corner, or get something to eat," the source said.

The source added that it is clear that the disgraced 70-year-old financial maven is feeling sorry for himself while hanging out in his $7 million pad - even as thousands of his victims scramble to avoid bankruptcy, loss of their own homes or worse.

Madoff's moaning comes less than two weeks after he dodged a bid by federal prosecutors to revoke his bail because he and his wife, Ruth, mailed their sons and others more than $1 million worth of jewelry last month.

Maybe his good pal, the unusually silent Charles Schumer, can help arrange some outdoor visits for his buddy Bernie.

Chris Dodd, Meet Eddie Perez

The Democrat Senator from Connecticut, Christopher Dodd, may well have some re-election problems on his hands according to the Swing State Project.

Chris Dodd's favorability ratings in his home state have suffered ever since his very unsuccessful presidential run, an undertaking he was never quite able to explain to his constituents - or Iowa caucus-goers, for that matter. Allegations that he got favorable "VIP" loan terms from lender Countrywide haven't helped. What makes this a Race to Watch is the fact that three reasonably strong Republicans could all potentially give it a gander: Gov. Jodi Rell and former Congressmen Rob Simmons and Chris Shays. But Dodd is a powerful fundraiser in a blue state, and no one has stepped up to the plate yet. (D)

Via Instapundit.

Now what makes this of further interest is the fact Connecticut has a recent history of nailing politicians (of both parties, we might note) for corruption. First there was Republican Governor John Rowland and more recently, the indicted Mayor of Hartford and renowned community organizer Eddie Perez.

The New York Post today draws an interesting contrast between Perez and Dodd.

Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez was arrested Tuesday on bribery and corruption charges after allegedly receiving free work on his home from a city contractor. The scandal is remarkably similar to the one that sent former Gov. John Rowland to the big house back in 2005.

We just hope the arrest gets Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) looking over his shoulder. After all, it's not immediately clear why Perez should be in handcuffs - while Dodd retains his chairmanship of the powerful Senate Banking Committee.

Back in 2003, Dodd secured two "VIP" mortgages from Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo that reportedly saved him a cool $75,000. This, while he was supposed to be overseeing the Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed subprime loans on which Countrywide made a killing.

We know how that turned out.

Perez, meanwhile, is accused of accepting home renovations worth little more than half Dodd's take from Countrywide.

To be sure, the comparison may be somewhat unfair to Dodd: Unlike Perez, he's been accused of no direct quid pro quo for his preferential treatment.

Then again, he likely didn't get the sweet deals for no reason, either. And he's months overdue in making good on his promise to release documents on the deal.

It's also worth noting the Democrats in the Senate won't make any move to oust Dodd and it's unlikely the Obama Justice Department will go anywhere near corrupt Democrats. There's only so much change they're interested in.

Thanks to Instapundit for the link.

The Journey of Irena Sendler, Holocaust Survivor & Heroine (VIDEO)

This is a flashback of a beautiful and touching story from 2007. You see, this is about a lovely woman named Irena Sendler. Glenn Beck discovered her story, and found her worthy of a special recognition on his show at that time.

Here's a bit about Holocaust survivor, Irena and her poignant tale:

To be able to enter the Warsaw Ghetto legally, Irena managed to be issued a pass from Warsaw's Epidemic Control Department and she visited the Ghetto daily, reestablished contacts and brought food, medicines and clothing. But 5,000 people were dying a month from starvation and disease in the Ghetto, and she decided to help the Jewish children to get out. For Irena Sendler, a young mother herself, persuading parents to part with their children was in itself a horrendous task. Finding families willing to shelter the children, and thereby willing to risk their life if the Nazis ever found out, was also not easy.



Irena Sendler, who wore a star armband as a sign of her solidarity to Jews, began smuggling children out in an ambulance. She recruited at least one person from each of the ten centers of the Social Welfare Department. With their help, she issued hundreds of false documents with forged signatures. Irena Sendler successfully smuggled almost 2,500 Jewish children to safety and gave them temporary new identities.

Some children were taken out in gunnysacks or body bags. Some were buried inside loads of goods. A mechanic took a baby out in his toolbox. Some kids were carried out in potato sacks, others were placed in coffins, some entered a church in the Ghetto which had two entrances. One entrance opened into the Ghetto, the other opened into the Aryan side of Warsaw. They entered the church as Jews and exited as Christians. "`Can you guarantee they will live?'" Irena later recalled the distraught parents asking. But she could only guarantee they would die if they stayed. "In my dreams," she said, "I still hear the cries when they left their parents."

Irena Sendler accomplished her incredible deeds with the active assistance of the church. "I sent most of the children to religious establishments," she recalled. "I knew I could count on the Sisters." Irena also had a remarkable record of cooperation when placing the youngsters: "No one ever refused to take a child from me," she said. The children were given false identities and placed in homes, orphanages and convents. Irena Sendler carefully noted, in coded form, the childrens original names and their new identities. She kept the only record of their true identities in jars buried beneath an apple tree in a neighbor's back yard, across the street from German barracks, hoping she could someday dig up the jars, locate the children and inform them of their past.

In all, the jars contained the names of 2,500 children ...

Some of you may have seen this before, but I haven't. And if you haven't either, you should.

All I can say is shame on you, Al Gore... you should have apologized and removed yourself from the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize consideration, in honor of this true angel. She died the following year, and she deserved this award much more than did you and your sham pseudo-scientific fraud of man-made climate change. You think you are changing lives? Only yours, chump. Irene changed thousands of lives, and in a much more meaningful way.

A Pig is a Pig, With or Without Lipstick

Michael Ramirez, my favorite editorial cartoonist from Investor's Business Daily, has it right in his latest creation. What's the saying?... A picture paints a thousand words. Unfortunately for Americans, it's a TRILLION + words! That is, if words = dollars. This is the definition of insanity, because it didn't work the first time last year. Why should it work this time? Why does this crap make me so tired?



Lord help us all.

'Men Smell of Cheese, and Women of Grapefruit or Onion'

Good God, I hope they're not talking about Fromunder cheese.

Little girls may be made of sugar, spice and all things nice - but their underarms smell of onions and grapefruit, scientists say.

Men, on the other hand, are more likely to whiff of pungent cheese after a hard day at work.

These are the conclusions from a bizarre study which investigated the distinctive armpit odours of men and women.

The research, led by some of the world's most respected smell scientists, could lead to a new understanding of body odour - and a new range of deodorants designed to tackle the unique smells of men and women.

Scientists at Firmenich, a company in Geneva that researches flavours and smells for the food and perfume industry, took samples of armpit sweat from 24 men and 25 women after they had spent time in a sauna or 15 minutes on an exercise bike.

The volunteers were asked to wash before the experiment and avoid wearing any perfumes or deodorants that could confuse the results.

To their surprise, the team found strong differences between the sexes.

Christian Starkenmann, who led the study, said: 'Men smell of cheese, and women of grapefruit or onion.'

Cuba to Obama: Hey, Just Hand Over Club Gitmo

I'm sure if they make a healthy contribution (properly laundered, of course) to Obama 2012, anything's negotiable.

CUBA'S Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque has called for the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay to be returned to Cuba and said he will invite the UN special investigator on torture to visit the island.

Mr Perez Roque said that US President Barack Obama's decision to close within a year the "war on terror" prison at the US naval base was positive but insufficient.

Cuba expected that Mr Obama's decision to close down the Guantanamo prison camp "is followed by the decision to close down the base and return that territory to the Cubans", a base that the United States "really does not need for its security and defence", Mr Perez Roque said today.

Mr Perez Roque also said that the United Nations' torture investigator, Manfred Nowak, will be invited next week "so that he can visit our country during the course of the current year".

Cuba will also ratify "in the next days" the UN international convention against forced disappearances, Mr Perez Roque said.

"Cuba is a country where over the past 50 years there has not been ... a single person that has gone missing. Nor has anyone been tortured, nor has there been a single extra-judicial execution," Mr Perez Roque said.

A regular laugh riot, this guy.

Vegetarian Sues, Says Boss Called Him 'Homo'

Looks like we're going to need vegetarian rights legislation to rectify this long-held pattern of discrimination in the workplace.

A New York City foreign-currency trader has filed a lawsuit claiming he was harassed and fired because his supervisor believed he was a gay vegetarian.

Manhattan resident Ryan Pacifico says he traded euros for Calyon in the Americas and did well until late 2006, when Robert Catalanello became his supervisor.

Court papers say when Catalanello learned Pacifico didn't eat meat, he called him "a vegetarian homo." The papers say Catalanello made a similar comment when he saw a photo of Pacifico in running tights.

Pacifico's lawyer Rick Ostrove said Wednesday his client married a woman in August and isn't gay.

Beck Holds Blago’s Feet to the Fire, Pt. 2 (VIDEO)

Tonight Glenn Beck aired part two of his showdown with impeached Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich. Note to MSM: Why can't you ask questions like Glenn did?



That was some kind of fun. By the way, I didn't know Blago was in the stimulus package? Wow!

El Baradei Snubs BBC Over Gaza

You know it is getting bad when the head of the Iranian Nuclear Proliferation Committee, I mean the UN International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei has canceled a scheduled interview with the BBC, also known as the Al Jazeera of Britain.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has cancelled interviews with the BBC over its decision not to broadcast a charity appeal for Gaza.

Guess we don't have to guess which side he is on in the ongoing problems the Israelis are having with Hamas and the Palestinians.

This is the guy who was supposed to keep an eye on Iran, and who kept issuing assurance after assurance that the Iranians were not up to any bad in the pursuit of their nuclear weapons, only to have to admit last year finally that he had not a clue.

We now have a report that Iran may have a nuclear weapon within a year.

I wonder what the "jizya" is that the BBC will have to pay to get back in ElBaradei's good graces?

'I Am Completely Disgusted By the Headlines Concerning My Sister's Weight'

After less than a week of basking in the joyous glow of Hopenchange, the less-talented, lip-syncing sister of the rapidly-expanding Jessica Simpson is enraged with media outlets having the temerity to show photos of her sister, and naturally blames Fox News.

Of course, Fox News didn't report the story until at least a day after we noted it here, via the Daily Mail. But hey, when you're a C-list celebutante suffering from Fox Derangement Syndrome, why quibble with accuracy?

Ashlee Simpson says she is "completely disgusted" by the scrutiny over her sister Jessica's new curves.

"I am completely disgusted by the headlines concerning my sister's weight. A week after the inauguration and with such a feeling of hope in the air for our country, I find it completely embarrassing and belittling to all women to read about a woman's weight or figure as a headline on Fox News," Simpson writes on her blog under an entry titled "Since when did a woman's weight become newsworthy..."

Jessica flaunted her new body at a concert over the weekend, wearing a figure-hugging black tank top and high-waist jeans. A flurry of blog posts followed.

Wait until she finds out other players on the Cowboys are secretly referring to Jessica as Flozell.

Finally: Madame Tussauds To Unveil Wax Michelle Obama In Tribute to Her Status as Budding Style Icon

Sure to be as stiff and unappealing as the original.

Madame Tussauds wax museum is adding Michelle Obama to its collection of famous figures in Washington.

Museum officials released pictures of the design process Wednesday and said the full figure will be unveiled in March. Designers will have spent six months on the figure, studying photos and video of the first lady.

General Manager Janine DiGioacchino says having an image of Obama is an honor because "as our nation's first African-American first lady, a proud working mom and budding style icon, Mrs. Obama is a role model to women around the corner and around the globe."

A budding style icon? Apparently they've never seen her in public wearing those drapes.

It was just a month ago when Madame Tussauds unveiled her husband to adoring fans.

Clueless Obama Tries to Walk Through Window

Honeymoon's over, cuz. Now we're allowed to goof on Obama.

Hooray!

It looks like President Obama hasn't gotten acquainted to his White House surroundings. On the way back to the Oval Office Tuesday, the President approached a paned window, instead of the actual door -- located a few feet to his right.

Doors didn't open automatically for Obama’s predecessor either. While making a hasty exit from a 2005 press conference in Beijing, former President George W. Bush tugged on the handles of a door, only to find it locked.

Bush laughed off the blunder, but the pictures still live on as part of Bush's lame duck legacy. However, there was little note taken of Obama's rookie mistake.

Media bias? What media bias?

Just a rookie mistake.

Taxachusetts: Obama Pal Sweet on Soda, Candy and Booze Tax

Cut wasteful government spending and bloated bureaucracy? Hell, no. Just grab for more, jack up the taxes on anything in sight, then raise the taxes again when you don't realize the projected revenue since everyone will just cross the border to neighboring states.

These tax-and-gouge liberals just never learn. But the suckers in Massachusetts keep voting for them.

Desperate to close a $1.1 billion budget gap, Gov. Deval Patrick wants to tack the state’s 5 percent sales tax on booze, candy and soda, sources say.

Alcohol sales are taxed at 5 percent in bars and restaurants but are currently exempted from state sales taxes in package stores, and Patrick plans to remove that exemption, along with the exemptions on candy and soda, sources told the Herald. It has been estimated an alcohol sales tax could raise close to $90 million.

And that's just from the Kennedy revenue stream. Seriously, though, they'll never see that kind of money. Consumers will find their way around it for the most part.

Patrick needs to learn from his buddy David Paterson in New York and call these taxes fees. The dummies always fall for that. Make them feel guilty and cut a discount for diet sodas, all in the name of the children, of course.

H/T Lauren.

Lawyer Smeared With Poo, Mistrial Declared

Occupational hazard, I guess.

A San Diego judge has declared a mistrial in a kidnapping and assault case after the defendant smeared excrement on his lawyer's face and threw it at jurors.

The judge boosted defendant Weusi McGowan's bail from $250,000 to $1 million after the Monday incident.

Prosecutor Christopher Lawson says McGowan was upset because the judge refused to remove public defender Jeffrey Martin from the case.

McGowan had smuggled a bag of feces into court and spread it on Martin's hair and face before flinging the excrement at jurors. No jurors were hit.

Death Spiral: NY Times Earnings Plunge 48% in Fourth Quarter

Try to contain your sorrow.

The New York Times Co. said Wednesday that fourth-quarter earnings plunged 48 percent and online sales fell for the first time as the recession depressed spending by advertisers. The results still beat analyst estimates, and its shares rose nearly 10 percent.

The Times also announced it has retained investment firm Goldman Sachs to help explore a sale of its 17.8 percent stake in New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, Fenway Park, a portion of a cable sports network and other properties.

The Times company, which publishes the Times, The Boston Globe, the International Herald Tribune and 16 other daily newspapers, earned $27.6 million, or 19 cents a share, in the October-December period, compared with $53 million, or 37 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2007.

It really was a banner year fore the old gray hag.

For the full year, the Times reported a net loss of $57.8 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with net income of $208.7 million, or $1.45 per share, in 2007. Sales fell 7.7 percent to $2.95 billion.

Such rousing success recently earned them Moody's junk status.

'In Other Words, This Crisis is an Opportunity'

He's playing on our fears!

"The road to Copenhagen is now very clear. It starts with the passage of President Barack Obama's stimulus bill in its entirety. And then, secondly, we need to put a price on carbon by passing cap and trade legislation," Gore said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press. "In other words, this crisis is an opportunity."

The bloated windbag has apparently braved a Washington storm to bloviate about mythical global warming.

Yawn.

So. Damn. Tedious.

Of course, never let a crisis go without capitalizing on it for your own gain.

And now, a tribute to the world's most famous unlicensed climatologist.

Medical Heartbreak

Cello scrotum is a hoax. Yes, once again the medical community got duped. This is of course good news for Yo Yo Ma.

A top doctor has admitted her part in hoodwinking a leading medical journal after inventing a medical condition called "cello scrotum".

Elaine Murphy - now Baroness Murphy - dreamt up the painful complaint in the 1970s, sending a report to the British Medical Journal.

She came up with the idea after reading about a condition called "guitar nipple".

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Tammy Bruce: 'This Is Classic Bush Derangement Syndrome'

Awesome clip of Tammy Bruce on the O'Reilly Factor Tuesday night. She pulls no punches while discussing the insane notion of charging George W. Bush with war crimes for liberating 53 million people.

More from Gateway Pundit.

Murtha Voters Open Arms For Gitmo Guests

Recently Jack Murtha (Traitor-PA) was caught on tape saying he would have no problem having the Gitmo guests housed in his district. Well, not all of his constituents agree with him.

You know what? Y'all sent him back to Congress instead of a real American hero, William Russell, and then continue to send this scumbag to Congress, so maybe it's time for the good people of his district, whom Murtha calls rednecks and Obama says cling to their guns and bibles a little too tightly, paid a price for their actions.

An often used phrase is elections have consequences. Well, maybe the people of PA need to feel the consequences of their actions.

Obama Reaches Out to Iran, Little Hitler Demands Change, Regime Calls Holocaust a 'Big Lie'

Partner in peace

That Obama charm offensive with all the bad actors on the world stage is already reaping the benefits only glorious, wonderful change can bring. Why that nice fellow Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is already weak in the knees, squealing and gushing like a B-list Hollywood celebutard.

A day after President Barack Obama struck a conciliatory tone toward Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged Washington on Wednesday to apologize for its actions toward his country for the past 60 years and said it was unclear whether the new American administration was merely shifting tactics or wanted real change.

But, in a speech in the western city of Kermanshah, he did not explicitly rebuff the American president’s gesture. “We are waiting patiently,” he said, referring to the policies of the new administration in Washington. “We will listen to the statements closely, we will carefully study their actions and if there are real changes, we will welcome it.”

Mr. Obama, in his first television interview at the White House since taking office, said that it was important to be willing to talk to the Iranians, both to express differences and to explore “where there are potential avenues for progress.”

“And as I said during my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us,” Mr. Obama said in the interview with Al Arabiya television that was broadcast on Tuesday.

They just unclenched their fist upside your head, idiot.

Meanwhile, in a pre-emptive extended hand to the world announcing how serious they are about real and meaningful change, an Iranian spokesman reached out with the conciliatory gesture of calling the Holocaust a big lie.

Mmm. Can't you just taste the change?

Iran's government spokesman on Tuesday branded the Holocaust a "big lie" created to place the Islamic republic's arch-foe Israel in the Middle East, the state IRNA news agency reported.

"The Holocaust is a concept coming from a big lie in order to settle a rootless regime in the heart of the Islamic world," Gholam Hossein Elham told a conference on Gaza in central Iran's religious city of Qom.

It was not the first time an Iranian official has questioned the massacre of Jews by Nazis in World War II.

Iran does not recognise Israel, and since his election in 2005 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has attracted international condemnation by repeatedly predicting that the Jewish state is doomed to disappear.

In late 2005 Ahmadinejad branded the Holocaust a "myth." His comment was followed by a conference in Tehran in 2006 that brought together Holocaust deniers and revisionists.

I'm sure in no time the warm rush of Hopenchange will wash over those madcap mullahs and they'll be welcoming their Israeli friends with opens arms while dismantling their nuclear facilities.

Obama wasn't the only one pandering to these maniacs.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also said Tuesday that Iran had a “clear opportunity” to engage with the international community.

Mr. Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that the “slogan of change was good, but it could be of two kinds — a fundamental change or a tactical one,” the official IRNA news agency said. It would soon become clear, IRNA quoted the Iranian leader as saying, whether Mr. Obama’s comments were “just a change in tone.”

“Change means that they should apologize to the Iranian nation and try to make up for their dark background and the crimes they have committed against the Iranian nation,” he said in the speech broadcast live on Iranian television.

Yes, sounds like people we can work with. Maybe we can set up a summit and bring along Obama admirers Raul Castro and Hugo Chavez.

They're sure to be won over by the sheer magnitude and charisma of the most famous man ever.

'When I Started to Blog, No One Knew What a Blog Was'

If you consider inane, incoherent, illiterate rants blogging, then bid farewell to blog pioneer Rosie O'Donnell. Can't say for sure when this bloated bag of wind actually started blogging, as her site already redirects elswhere, but I surmise she wasn't exactly in the forefront of the medium.

ROSIE O'Donnell's blog ging days are over.

O'Donnell says she's finished with posting her e.e. cummings-style, lower-case poems and musings on rosie.com - and will re-focus the site on other endeavors, including her Rosie's Broadway Kids organization.

"When I started to blog, no one knew what a blog was," O'Donnell told People.com. "Then it got so commonplace, it was kind of being used on entertainment shows as edited pieces.

"I was like, 'It's not worth it.' It wasn't providing the joy that it used to."

Probably because nobody caress what you have to say.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence when you go to the link that there's a McDonald's ad next to her overstuffed face.

I imagine her next announcement will be she's giving up variety shows to spend more time with her family.

Beck Holds Blago's Feet to the Fire (VIDEO)

Today on Glenn Beck's show, Blago continued his magical mystery media tour, and unlike his other appearances, the interviewer this time (Glenn) actually didn't lob softballs at him. Tomorrow is part 2 of Glenn's interview, so we'll post that one then.



Here are my two favorite screen caps.





I love Beck's honest facial expressions. Priceless!

Taliban Take a Shine to Obama

I'm sure Obama will maintain their approval so long as he continues to pander to America's enemies. Whatever the case, he's off to a good start with these cavemen.

THE Taliban called on US President Barack Obama to close all "evil" US detention centres for militants, "completely withdraw" from Iraq and Afghanistan and "stop defending Israel".

The message, a copy of which was obtained from the SITE Intelligence Group, called on Mr Obama to take these steps to reverse the "satanic policies" of his predecessor, George W Bush.

"Obama's move to close Guantanamo detention centre is a positive step for peace and stability in the region and the world," said the message, which was posted on online jihadist forums.

"If Barack Obama sincerely wants real stability and peace in the world, he should not only close Guantanamo.

"Rather, he should void all those evil projects established in the light of Bush's satanic perspective of instability in the world."

Mr Obama signed executive orders in his first week in office to ban torture, shut secret overseas CIA detention centres and close the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where some 245 detainees are still held.

The Guantanamo prison camp was established in 2002 as a means to hold detainees beyond the reach of US courts.

The US also holds approximately 600 detainees at the US airbase in Bagram, Afghanistan, the fate of which Mr Obama has not yet decreed.

The Taliban issued a stern warning to Mr Obama should he not heed their advice. "It is imperative that Obama, before he gets hit with the same fate as the Communist empire, must find potential ways to carry a message of peace and stability to the world," the message said.

Coming of last week's approving nods from Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, this makes a nice trifecta of new pals for Obama.

Can some outreach and dialogue be far behind?

'We Don’t Want to be Overly Opportunistic and Exploit This'

No, can't be exploitative while cravenly cashing in on Obamamania. Of course they'll probably turn off a good portion of their fans, but let's face it, are they going to go root for the Cubs?

No doubt by using the Obama logo there'll be a portion of the proceeds going to Obama's favorite charity: himself.

The Chicago White Sox are aiming to release a President Barack Obama-themed version of their cap in time for the start of spring training.

The club has developed two prototype designs of its club hat with Obama marks on the side and back. The hats have been approved by MLB Properties, and the White Sox now are awaiting a formal blessing from the Obama administration before league licensee New Era goes into production. Both designs will be made if accepted by Obama.

The White Sox enjoy a special relationship with the newly inaugurated president due to his roots in south Chicago. Should the hat happen as intended, proceeds from its sale would be donated to charities, likely ones that provide services near U.S. Cellular Field.

His roots in Chicago? I thought he grew up in Hawaii? Or was it Indonesia?

Retail distribution would likely be tied, at least at the outset, to official league and club channels, such as the team’s stadium store and MLB.com’s online shop, but a wider release could occur should demand warrant it.

“We know exactly what we want to do with this [hat]. It’s just a matter now of getting sign-off from Obama’s camp, going through the proper channels and moving forward,” said Brooks Boyer, White Sox vice president and chief marketing officer.

“We’re very excited. This is somebody who’s obviously a White Sox fan, but more importantly, really embraces and embodies the attributes of our brand: the notions of pride, passion and tradition we rally around. He’s made it hip to be a White Sox fan,” Boyer said.

Let's just hope those nice kids in south Chicago don't start killing each other over the hats. Lord knows the murder rate in Obama's community is already off the charts. Maybe they can donate the hats to the poor, underprivileged youths as a magnanimous gesture.

Nah.

Of course in all this frenzy, they don't want to appear as if they're, you know, shamelessly cashing in.

The club is devising other marketing and merchandising opportunities around its most powerful fan and have developed an area within the team’s official Web site devoted to Obama.

While team officials said there is not a concern about upsetting conservative-leaning White Sox fans, pointing to baseball’s historic role as a political unifier, they are aiming to draw a careful line about how much they do in connection with the president.

“We don’t want to be overly opportunistic and exploit this,” Boyer said.

George W. Bush used to be an owner of the Texas Rangers. I wonder what the reaction of sportswriters would have been if the franchise put a W logo on the caps of the players back in 2001?

I doubt anyone ever considered it and if they did, something tells me Bush would never have been such a megalomaniac to go along with it.