Paul Ryan: "I Will Eat My Tie" If Obamacare Reduces the Deficit

Funny, I don't recall Obama making it interesting like that back when he was running around promising Americans that his healthcare monstrosity was 'deficit-neutral'.

Obama could have said: "I'll eat my golf glove if this bill adds one dime to the deficit!"

But he didn't. Hmmm...

So here is Paul Ryan on tonight's Mark Levin radio show, explaining for the umpteenth time that the CBO's output is entirely dependent on the data that is spoon-fed to them and the set of assumptions they are instructed to make.

In other words, they are robot slaves with green eyeshades.

Whatever you put in CBO - in front of them - they have to score what you put in front of them. They put this health care, we put the health care bill in front of them; the health care bill is full of gimmicks and spending tricks. Ten years of tax increases to pay for six years of spending, for starters. They double-count revenue for Social Security. They double-count revenue for this new CLASS Act program. They double-count Medicare cuts. They ignore the 'doc fix'. They did not include the $115 billion in spending that would be required just to set the bureaucracy up to run this new program.

"If you take out all the double-counting - if you add the counting they didn't count - it adds a $701 billion deficit. So, what CBO cannot do is tell you "we're not going to count the budget gimmicks that are in this legislation." They just have to estimate the bill as it's written, with all the gimmicks included. So, people around here know how to write legislation to manipulate the kind of cost estimate you're gonna get from the Congressional Budget Office. I sent a letter to the CBO, I asked them "Well, now look at these budget gimmicks, ignore these budget gimmicks. What then?" And it's what I just told you, this thing is a huge budget-buster. So, what they have is a piece of paper that they've manipulated to say this thing reduces the deficit.

I will eat my tie if that is the outcome of this law. But, they're trying to say by voting to repeal health care, we're going to raise the deficit - and we're just not gonna buy that economics. We're not gonna accept all these budget gimmicks, and that's why we're going to move ahead and repeal this thing anyway."

Transcripted from the audio at The Right Scoop. Cross-posted.

Gateway Pundit links. Thanks!

Under My Plow: Bloomberg's Ratings Plunge As He Offers a Couple of Sacrificial Lambs Following Snow Disaster

With a 100% chance of the flaky white stuff headed our way tomorrow, it seems like a great time for Titanic Captain Mike "Nolabels" Bloomberg to rearrange the deck chairs. Now I know why he wants us all to cut down on our salt intake. He needs it to help clear his precious bike paths dotting the city. Anyway, nearly two weeks after he kissed his presidential aspirations goodbye (even though he's not running, of course), he kicks a couple of sanitation honchos to the curb, where they're sure to collect a comfy salary and pension.

Oh, the pain.

The heads just keep on rolling following last month's botched blizzard cleanup.

The city said today that two Sanitation Department bosses in Brooklyn were demoted "after examining our performance during the massive blizzard" and will install GPS devices in trucks that will plow parts of the outer boroughs.

The men that will be reassigned are Brooklyn South Assistant Chief Joseph Montgomery and Brooklyn South Deputy Chief Joseph Susol, although the city did not give a specific reason as to why they were being replaced.

"After examining our performance during the massive blizzard that hit us the day after Christmas, among the things we found were that structural and personnel changes were in order in Brooklyn to create a more balanced operation," said Sanitation Department Commissioner John Doherty.

The move comes a day after the city demoted EMS Chief John Peruggia as part of a post-blizzard shakeup.

The city was hit with 20 inches of snow on Dec. 26-27, with parts of Brooklyn and Queens remained paralyzed for days after the sanitation department failed to plow streets.

More snow is expected to fall on Friday, although forecasts call for as little as three inches in most parts of the city.

At a new conference at City Hall this afternoon, Mayor Bloomberg also outlined a plan to install GPS trackers in 50 Sanitation trucks, effective Friday, to help us "communicate" with drivers in Brooklyn.

"These are only initial improvements," Bloomberg vowed, saying they will have more improvements to announce next week.

"We're going to do better next time," he added.

This time last week he was belligerent and defiant, he'd done nothing wrong, and shut up and bask in his aura.

Today he sounds a bit less defiant. I can't wait until the media starts polling him in the wake of this debacle.

The city also said it will improve training procedures for all sanitation workers, who The Post reported last week had, in some cases, intentionally slowed down the cleanup as part of a union action in response to department budget cuts. Neighborhoods like Dyker Heights and Borough Park, both located in Southern Brooklyn, were intentionally targeted by drivers.

Bloomberg and Doherty have said there was no deliberate work stoppage.

Keep sticking to that story, guys. It's really working out.

In a stunning development, Bloomberg's poll ratings are falling as fast as the snow.

A poll taken after the storm showed Bloomberg's approval rating had plunged from 50% to 37% and only one in five New Yorkers think he handled it well.

At a press conference to address the city response to snow expected to fall today, Bloomberg stood with two embattled underlings - Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith and Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty.

Not present was Joe Bruno, head of the Office of Emergency Management, said to be on thin ice for not mobilizing fast enough.

Bloomberg stammered awkwardly as he denied yelling at Bruno during a meeting and said the commissioner was absent because he was preparing for today's expected bad weather.

I just hope the grounds in front of the Ground Zero mosque area are properly cleared tomorrow. We don't want to offend his few remaining supporters.

Let's look at the upside: It's taken a natural disaster to save us from the political disaster known as Michael Bloomberg.

Baker's Dozen of Democrats Vote No To Reduce House Budget

Things continue to move along in DC. While everybody is distracted by reporting of the outburst during the reading of the Constitution the Republicans brought forth a bill to reduce the size of the House budget by 5%, which is about $35 million. While the final vote count came the closet to being bipartisan in nature that we have seen in awhile there were still a stalwart group of Democrats who voted no.

It should come as no surprise really. Four of the representatives were from CA, Lee, Filner, Woolsey, and Honda who quite frankly really have no concept of what it means to cut a budget. Conyers from MI who once again can attest to how well living above your means has worked out for the people in his district.

H/T to Jamie Dupree's tweets for the information on the vote. Jamie is a straight up reporter whom I became aware through the Neal Boortz radio show. He is the old school of reporting with a just the facts style. No editorializing, so for those of you who use Twitter look him up and follow him for updates from capitol hill.

more D's voting No on 5% cut: Jackson IL, Moran VA, Payne NJ, Schakowsky IL, Towns NY and CA, Ackerman NY, Clarke NY, Conyers MI, Ellison MN, .

Jamie also clarified the claim made by the CBO and the Dems that the repeal of the healthcare bill will result in an increase of $230 billion to the deficit. This is the result of lost revenue from the increased fees and taxes built into the bill. So in other words doing away with these yet to be enacted taxes will increase the deficit because the government was already counting on the money. The Republicans need to get the message out about how this talking point is derived at and do it in a easy to understand way. The easiest rebuttal to this claim is to ask the Democrats would the deficit increase by this amount IF this healthcare takeover had never been passed or are projected deficits from the Democrats free spending ways even higher then the American people have been led to believe?

The folks at the Heritage Foundation offer the full length version of how this claim by the Democrats is false.

The answer of course is probably not, but with they fancy accounting methods and double counting savings in certain areas and other shady language they have managed to promote a story that would make Bernie Madoff look like an unimpeachable witness for the prosecution.

Heh: Reading of Constitution on House Floor Interrupted by Someone Questioning Obama's Qualifications to be POTUS

No word if this was a Code Pinko, but I suspect it wasn't.

Members of the House of Representatives today read the Constitution on the floor of the House chamber, marking a first for Congress. While lawmakers read the amended version to skirt the original's controversial passages, the reading wasn't without its own share of controversy.

A woman sitting in the House gallery was arrested for yelling while a lawmaker read a passage about a requirement that a U.S. president must be a natural born citizen.

The woman, according to Politico, shouted, "Except Obama, except Obama. Help us Jesus."

The yeller was arrested while the recitation went on as scheduled.

Somewhere Charles Johnson is wetting himself.

More here.

As the reading of the amended version went on for several hours, there was at least one outburst from the gallery as a person interrupted to say Obama wasn’t born in the United States, hence was constitutionally barred from being president. No effort, including the release of his birth certificate, by President Obama has dispelled the false rumors of his birth that continue to have traction with the so-called birther movement.

Of course he's never released the actual birth certificate, but why deal with the facts?

'Popular' Teacher Mysteriously Found in Vehicle With Student

Where were all these popular teachers when I was in high school?

A 27-year-old teacher has been arrested for allegedly having sex with one of her own teenage students.

The boy of 16 told police their relationship, which officers believe may have gone on for over a month, blossomed in her car.

Ashley Blumenshine was arrested behind a department store in Plainfield, Illinois, after police caught her in a car with the teen.

Police believe that they had had sex shortly before the officers arrived.

The high school teacher is being held in custody charged with having sex with the student. Her attorney said she is innocent.

She taught dance and physical education at Plainfield North High School for four years and is known for her popularity.

Plainfield North High School graduate Michael Deland said: 'I remember she's a really nice lady.'

Around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a Plainfield police officer arrested Blumenshine after allegedly catching her in a car with a student outside the Kohl's department store.

'The person in the back was partially unclothed,' said Plainfield Police Chief William Doster of the student.

Hmm. I wonder what could have been going on there.

Bacon Rage: 'Don't Record Me Bitch!'

If most people behaved this way they'd be fired. But Muslims have such delicate sensibilities that might offend them. Maybe we all ought to just eschew bacon in order to keep the harmony.

A worker at a KFC restaurant in Sydney has been suspended after he was filmed screaming vicious insults and threatening to attack a customer.

The violent outburst happened at a Halal-friendly KFC in Punchbowl on December 26, allegedly after a customer became angry after being refused bacon on their burger.

The Punchbowl restaurant does not serve bacon or pork in accordance with Islamic law, and one employee can be heard saying "we don't have bacon" before the other begins yelling.

"Don't record me bitch!" he screams as he approaches the counter. "Don't f---ing record me!"

The employee continues to yell and smacks the cash register display on its side, before other workers grab him and lead him outside.

"I'm gonna f---in break your head bro," he says to the person filming as he is led around the corner out of sight.

A spokesman for KFC Australia told ninemsn the employee had been suspended over the incident and offered counselling.

"KFC Australia strongly condemns the behaviour of the team member who appears in the clip and sincerely apologises for this very inappropriate reaction," the spokesman said.

But the spokesman also said the employee may have been harassed by the customer before his meltdown.

There's always a but.

More Dissension Among Georgia Democrats

During yesterday's voting for the Speaker of the House, it was once again the Democrats from Georgia that delivered a message to the national Democrats that everything isn't so rosy in the Peach State for their brand. Following on the defection earlier this year of several prominent Democrats to the Republican party in Georgia, a couple of the representatives refused to go along with the party line and vote for Pelosi to be their leader.

Two representatives John Barrow from Savannah and Sanford Bishop from Albany gave a very public message that the more progressive wing of their party is not welcome. Barrow voted for fellow Georgian John Lewis. This is really a coward's vote. By voting for an African American, who if you took the phrase "civil rights activist" out of any article pertaining to him, has no other item of note in his biography, he is able to avoid the racist label. Mr Bishop merely voted 'Present'.

In all 19 Democrats refused to vote Queen Nancy with the majority of them voting for Heath Schuler and then the little sophomoric display of two Dems voting for each other. Reminds me of something you expect out of a couple giggling high school girls voting for the king and queen of the prom, but then this is Dems we are talking about.

One last note on this, in the article I got this information from I found this curious caption on a picture.

Georgia Democratic Reps. John Barrow (left) of Savannah and Sanford Bishop of Albany both bucked the trend Wednesday during overwhelming votes for Nancy Pelosi as House minority leader.

There was only one name on the ballot you numbnuts. All of the other votes amount to write in votes and if the self proclaimed greatest leader of the house couldn't even get all of the votes of her now decimated party, then it certainly bodes well for the Republicans.

I expect the House to pass quite a bit of legislation just to see it die in the Harry Reid led Senate. I wonder if we will then see daily headlines about obstruction of the majority party? Remember Dems still hold the majority in the Senate. Without the narrative of Republican filibusters, and there were zero filibusters by the way, merely a Senator voicing displeasure at a piece of legislation was enough to turn the spineless Dem senators and the bed wetting liberal media into a quivering mass of jello. Democrats are like the little kid who picks a fight and then when the other kid comes looking for him goes hides behind mommies skirt. Mommies skirt in this case being the media.

Anyway the Dems have big problems internally but of course we won't hear about most of it, and the first freshman Republican congressman who sneezes in the hallway will be accused of starting the next Bird Flu epidemic.

The Failed 112th Congress

So much for a honeymoon period.

The new Republican majority in the House is learning already that governing is harder than campaigning.

They vow to repeal President Obama’s health reform. But they say they want to reduce the deficit, too, so one of their rules requires that any new legislation be paid for fully.

Here’s the problem: The health care reform includes new taxes and a tough cut in Medicare spending. It actually reduces the deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office. So if you kill health reform, the rules require that you find offsetting spending cuts or tax increases to plug that gap.

So Republicans have decided to exempt health reform from the rule. That deficit they talked so much about during the campaign? Never mind.

We haven’t seen this kind of hypocrisy in Washington since ... a few weeks ago, when Republicans insisted on extending tax cuts to the wealthy and didn’t pay for that either.

Of course if was the golden boy in the White House who signed that legislation. Oh, never mind.

Can't wait to see the scathing analysis of Day 2 of the 112th Congress.

As to repealing ObamaCare, Constitutional scholar Ezra Klein suddenly is concerned with deficit spending.

Obama Ushers in Era of Compromise and Cooperation by Resubmitting Extremist Judicial Nominations

Of course when the current occupant of the White House calls for compromise it means Republicans shut up and go along with him. This isn't a promising first step, to say the least.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday resubmitted a batch of federal judicial nominations that didn't clear the Senate last year, including four that provoked strong objections from some Republican lawmakers.

Obama sent 42 names to the Senate. They include 35 nominees for federal district courts and seven for the appellate courts.

The most controversial of the four is Goodwin Liu, a dean at the University of California, Berkeley, law school. Liu was renominated for a seat on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. He also is seen as a potential Supreme Court pick by a Democratic president.

Republicans have criticized Liu for negative comments about then-Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, now a justice on the Supreme Court.

The others contentious nominees are Edward Chen, Louis B. Butler Jr. and John J. McConnell Jr., all nominated to become U.S. District Court judges.

Republicans now control six more seats in the rearranged Senate, making it less likely that lawmakers will approve the most controversial of Obama's picks this time around.

In fact, Sen. Orrin Hatch, a former chairman and still a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pledged immediately to vigorously oppose Obama's "most extreme judiciary nominees." Hatch, R-Utah, said their "activist approach would control rather than follow the Constitution."

Republicans criticized Liu's nomination from the start.

At the dean's Senate confirmation hearing, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., noted Liu's criticism of Alito after President George W. Bush nominated him to the Supreme Court.

Liu said at the time that Alito's vision of America is one "where police may shoot and kill an unarmed boy.where federal agents may point guns at ordinary citizens during a raid, even after no sign of resistance, where the FBI may install a camera where you sleep.where a black man may be sentenced to death by an all-white jury for killing a white man absent. analysis showing discrimination."

Kyl called the comments vicious, and emotionally and racially charged."

Liu later said he used "unnecessarily colorful language" and that he had the highest regard for Alito's career. Liu said his remarks followed a 14-page analysis of Alito's rulings. Alito had been a federal appellate court judge before he was elevated to the high court.

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Separated at Birth: Robert Gibbs, Beaker, and World's Daffiest Political Adviser*

*Actually, that's the same guy.


In the end, Gibbs ended up lasting roughly 22 months longer as Obama's Press Secretary than I thought he would.

How the tool managed to do that I'll never know.

Here's to his continued "success" advising Obama.

Cross-posted.

Hey, Maybe Republicans Are Serious About This Constitution Thing

While all of the attention today has been on the passing of gavel from disgraced and ostracized former speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi to John Boehner, the Republicans held their first vote with a big tip of the hat towards the constitution. They voted to strip full floor voting rights from the delegates which represent our territories and the District of Columbia.

Republicans have long argued that the Constitution, which says the House should be made up of representatives chosen by the "several states," rules out voting by non-state delegates. The office of new House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday said Boehner "continues to believe . that delegates should not vote in the Committee of the Whole because they constitutionally cannot vote on the House floor."

"It's very apparent to me that we need to focus on the Constitution and (under the Constitution) states are to be represented in the House of Representatives," said House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif.

There is a lot rules surrounding just what powers these delegates have and what this measure basically boils down to is they can no longer vote on amendments to bills on the floor of the house. They could never vote on the final bills and this simply limits their participation to committees.

Predictably the delegate from DC is taking this extremely hard especially since the Democrats tried in vain to make them a full representative when they controlled congress, which if history is any sort of a teacher will be about 40 years from now before they get their next chance.

Jerrold Nadler (D-ouble Cheeseburger): Reading the Constitution is 'Propaganda' and 'Total Nonsense'

Nice to see this slob, who's sworn to uphold the Constitution, ridicule our founding document as propaganda. Just keep talking, lardass.

And the Founders said: Let there be a constitution. And the Founders looked at the articles and clauses and saw that it was good.

For more than 200 years, Americans have revered the Constitution as the law of the land, but the GOP and tea party heralding of the document in recent months - and the planned recitation on the House floor Thursday - have caused some Democrats to worry that the charter is being misconstrued as the immutable word of God.

"They are reading it like a sacred text," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the outgoing chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, civil rights and civil liberties, who has studied and memorized the Constitution with talmudic intensity.

Nadler called the "ritualistic reading" on the floor "total nonsense" and "propaganda" intended to claim the document for Republicans. "You read the Torah, you read the Bible, you build a worship service around it," said Nadler, who argued that the Founders were not "demigods" and that the document's need for amendments to abolish slavery and other injustices showed it was "highly imperfect."

So he's memorized it as if it were the Talmud, yet Republicans reading it aloud on the House floor is akin to reading it like sacred text? Does this buffoon realize how idiotic he sounds?

Speaking ofstupid, this dolt, who wouldn't recognize the Constitution if it hit her in her fat head, weighs in.



Another deep thinker says the GOP has a fetish for the Constitution.

So the folks who've used the Constitution as toilet paper are now concerned about the GOP reading it on the House floor and actually trying to uphold its principles. Wonderful. Enjoy your permanent minority status.

'It's Jarring, and It's an Emotional Thing'

The hits just keep on coming for the NYC Sanitation Department. Now under federal investigation for the alleged cleanup slowdown, today we learn the boobs trashed the city's largest Jewish cemetery. Great work, guys!

Even the dead can't escape the ineptitude of the city's Sanitation Department.

Sanitation crews dumped tons of dirty snow from the Christmas-weekend blizzard into the city's biggest Jewish cemetery, toppling 21 gravestones and wrecking an iron fence.

"It's jarring, and it's an emotional thing," said Yana Zhuravel, a Brooklyn lawyer whose grandparents' headstones at Washington Cemetery in Midwood, Brooklyn, were among those knocked over.

"Clearly, nobody came with the intention of doing this, I'm sure," said Zhuravel. "But when an accident happens of this caliber, you expect some form of accountability."

"We were devastated," said cemetery manager Marisa Tarantino.

Workers believe the snow was dumped sometime over the New Year's holiday, Tarantino said.

The cemetery is closed on Saturday. Workers noticed the knocked-over gravestones when the cemetery opened at 8 a.m. Sunday, Tarantino said.

Sanitation officials sent an employee to look into the matter, and the cemetery plans to file a claim with the city. Some people who heard of the devastation stopped by the cemetery yesterday to check on their relatives' graves.

"Ours is good," said Oscar Daych, 76, whose mother-in-law is buried there. "But this is unbelievable. It's terrible. We don't know what to say."

The snow-clearing crews also buried several vehicles parked next to the cemetery on Bay Parkway.

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Get a Christmas E-card From the White House? You've Been Cyberpunked

Silly Obamatons who opened this are probably too ashamed to admit it.

It looked like an innocent e-mail Christmas card from the White House.

But the holiday greeting that surfaced just before Christmas was a ruse by cybercriminals to steal documents and other data from law enforcement, military and government workers — particularly those involved in computer crime investigations.

Analysts who have studied the malicious software said Tuesday that hackers were able to use the e-mail to collect sensitive law enforcement data. But so far there has been no evidence that any classified information was compromised.

The targeted e-mail attack comes as the federal government is desperately trying to beef up its cybersecurity after the release of thousands of State Department cables and military documents by the WikiLeaks website. Federal authorities want to improve technology systems and crack down on employees to prevent the theft or loss of classified and sensitive information.

The red holiday e-mail card, with its brightly decorated Christmas tree, prompted recipients to click on a link, which would then download the ZueS malware — a well-known malicious code that is often used to steal passwords and other online credentials, primarily to poach Internet banking information. The malware was created several years ago and is widely available for criminals to acquire and adapt. It has been used to steal millions of dollars.

In this case, however, the code downloaded a second payload that is designed to steal documents from the recipient's computer, accessing Microsoft Word and Excel files.

Don Jackson, director of threat intelligence for Atlanta-based SecureWorks, a computer security consulting company, said the attack was somewhat small and targeted to a limited number of groups with law enforcement, military and government affiliations.

It was small enough, he said, to suggest that is was sent out manually and not by a large network of infected computers. He said it was not large enough to be picked up by cybersecurity spam traps or sensors.

Hugo Chavez Fantasy: Sean Penn, Oliver Stone or Noam Chomsky as US Ambassador

If none of the above crackpots make the cut, he'll settle for Bill Clinton.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sought to end a diplomatic stand-off with the United States on Tuesday by suggesting it name Bill Clinton, actor Sean Penn or director Oliver Stone as its envoy to Caracas.

In the latest flare-up between the ideological foes, Washington withdrew the visa of Venezuela's ambassador last week in retaliation for Chavez's rejection of President Barack Obama's nominated ambassador to Caracas.

U.S. diplomat Larry Palmer had criticized Venezuela's government, saying morale in its military was low and there were clear ties between members of the Chavez administration and leftist rebels in neighboring Colombia.

In a televised speech late on Tuesday, Venezuela's firebrand president said he had come up with a solution.

"I hope they name Oliver Stone. I'll suggest a candidate ... Sean Penn, or (linguist and philosopher Noam) Chomsky. We have a lot of friends there. Bill Clinton!" Chavez said.

Stone visited Caracas in May for the local premiere of his documentary "South of the Border," which profiles Latin America's leftist leaders. He told reporters he admired Chavez and his record since coming to power in 1999.

Penn, who has been involved in humanitarian efforts following Haiti's earthquake, won best actor Oscars for his roles in the Clint Eastwood-directed drama "Mystic River" and as slain gay activist Harvey Milk in the movie "Milk."

Chavez also recounted how he met U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton briefly on the sidelines of Dilma Rousseff's inauguration ceremony on Saturday in Brazil.

"I said to Senora Clinton 'How is your husband?'" he said. "But I made a mistake because I speak very bad English, and I said 'How is your wife?' She laughed, then I said husband."

What a card that Hugo is, slipping in a little lesbian humor. No word if Huma Abedin was present.

"We've Gotten a Lot of Responses From People...Who Don't Have 'Princess Boys'"

Yeah, I'll bet.

Call me an old-school parent, but in my book there are only three appropriate responses to seeing your 5-year-old boy prancing around in a pink tutu:

1. Horrified cringing.
2. Nervous laughter.
3. Corporal punishment.

I certainly wouldn't write a book about it and go on the Today Show.

Via Breitbart. Cross-posted.

Newsflash: Peter King Doesn't Like the New York Times

Say what you will about New York's Peter King, and I've had my disagreements with him in the past. But when it comes to his contempt for the New York Times, he may even have me beat. The thumbsuckers from the Old Grey Hag whimpered the other day about his upcoming hearing on the growing Islamist threat from withing, and today he fired back with both barrels. And that's putting it mildly.

“The New York Times is just basically being a mouthpiece for political correctness,” King said, later adding: “These are very legitimate hearings.”

In many ways, King may prove to be a major problem for the Obama administration in the new Congress.

Since Republicans won the House in November, the media spotlight has mainly focused on one incoming committee chairman: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who will head the House Oversight panel.

But the burly New York Republican could be just as big a thorn in the White House’s side.

King, a fiery Irishman known for an independent streak, has repeatedly blasted the administration for its attempt to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and try terrorism suspects in civilian courts.

Not one to mince words, King denounced John Brennan, chief counterterrorism adviser to the White House, for his involvement in homeland-security issues. King accused Brennan of intentionally shutting Congress out of critical briefings on terrorist attacks.

King has every right to challenge Obama and his lackeys. In case the Times has forgotten already, the GOP now controls the House and would be neglecting the desires of millions of Americans. If they don't like it, then too damn bad.

While some Democrats bristle at his King’s criticism of Obama’s national-security policies, it will be difficult to cast him as an ideologue who is just interested in scoring political points.

Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch (D) on Tuesday took a swing at The New York Times on behalf of King for a Sunday editorial denouncing his plans to hold a hearing on the radicalization of U.S. Muslims and homegrown terrorism.

The scathing editorial stated that King needed to take his anti-Muslim criticism down a notch if he wants to be taken seriously as the Homeland Security chairman.

King’s proposal to hold hearings on the issue has brought a rash of criticism from those who argue it could turn into a McCarthy-esque witch-hunt, fueling distrust of the government among Muslim citizens.

In its editorial, the Times wrote that King’s “sweeping slur on Muslim citizens is unacceptable.” It also accused him of too much “blather” and “bluster” on a host of national-security issues.

King quickly punched back.

“I’m certainly not going to take any political advice or direction from The New York Times,” King told The Hill. “I have more contempt for The New York Times than anything or anyone I can think of.”

He added, “People follow what I say. I’m outspoken, but I can back up everything I say. I am what I am and people seem to like it and I’m at peace with myself.”

Good for him. He's sure to receive an onslaught of criticism from the media and those terror co-conspirators from CAIR, but so be it. He'd receive more from the right if he were to fold like a cheap camera under the criticism. If Obama and company are afraid to testify it shows they've got something to hide. And when you've got the bedwetters playing the tired McCarthy card then you know you're on the right track.

Let the hearings begin.

Feds to Investigate NYC Snow Cleanup Slowdown

Honestly, I'm surprised they've acted so quickly on this one, but it's more than welcome. If it's found there was an intentional work slowdown they should spare no mercy.

The feds have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that city employees conspired to paralyze the city during last week's blizzard by failing to remove the snow, authorities confirmed today.

The probe launched by the Brooklyn US Attorney's Office comes in response to City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Queens) revelations to The Post last week that sanitation workers told him they were involved in a work slowdown, sources told The Post.

At the same time, both the Brooklyn and Queens DAs offices have started their own investigations into whether there was a work slowdown.

The Brooklyn US Attorney's Office is investigating whether there was a conspiracy to cripple parts of the city, according to a source.

The feds are trying to determine whether the plow supervisors conspired to defraud city taxpayers by padding their overtime pay, which could result in mail or wire-fraud charges.

The DAs in both counties, where snow removal was at its worst, are conducting inquiries as well, spokesmen for those offices confirmed to The Post.

Mayor Bloomberg and Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty have denied there was any orchestrated effort to halt the cleanup effort.

Halloran told The Post that he met with three plow workers from the Sanitation Department -- and two Department of Transportation supervisors who were on loan -- at his office after he was flooded with irate calls from constituents.

The snitches "didn't want to be identified because they were afraid of retaliation," Halloran said. "They were told [by supervisors] to take off routes [and] not do the plowing of some of the major arteries in a timely manner. They were told to make the mayor pay for the layoffs, the reductions in rank for the supervisors, shrinking the rolls of the rank-and-file."

Frankly I have no idea why the Post is calling these people snitches. If someone was blowing the whistle on, say, Halliburton, would they be classified as such?

A union head defends their actions.

Joseph Mannion, head of the Sanitation supervisors union, said he welcomed the probe as a chance to clear his members' names.

"We have nothing to hide. We absolutely did nothing wrong and I look forward to it. We would like to get this behind us. We have a lot of work to do," said Mannion, president of Local 444 of the Sanitation Officers Association.

"This is totally deflating the morale of the department - and they are still out there working. That makes it tough when they are the target of something they are not responsible for."

Halloran said he did not believe the unions were at fault.

"I have said from the beginning that I was talking about some supervisors in Queens and Brooklyn who have a grudge," he said. "It wasn't all the rank and file. And I don't believe it was a union-sanctioned operation."

Deranged Pelosi: We'd Have Passed ObamaCare Even If Everyone Was Satisfied With Their Healthcare

Her parting gift as Speaker: More incoherent, in-your-face drivel. Thank God this is her last day as House Speaker. She claims the system could not be sustained. Uh, neither can a $14 trillion debt you're mostly responsible for.

Enjoy flying coach.

Classy: Unfunny Hag Kathy Griffin Now Plans to Target Willow Palin With Her 'Humor'

Hey, why not Piper or Trig? A little Down Syndrome humor should really help your image, no? This desperate shrew just doesn't know when to shut up, does she?

Kathy Griffin announced her New Year’s resolution to continue a verbal assault on the Palin family. Only in 2011, the comedian said she intends to target Sarah Palin’s 16-year-old daughter, Willow.

"I've already gone for Sarah, Todd and Bristol obviously," Griffin told The Hollywood Reporter. "But I think it's Willow's year to go down. In 2011, I want to offend a new Palin.”

Could Griffin be switching to a younger, easier Palin target following her Bristol backfire in December?

On a special that aired Dec. 5, Kathy Griffin was jeered by the audience after attacking Bristol Palin for being “fat” while hosting the VH1 Divas “Salute to the Troops.” Griffin called the 20-year-old to “the white Precious,” based on Gabourey Sidibe’s role as an obese and abused teen mother in the 2009 Lee Daniels drama.

The incident provoked widespread criticism.

I suspect Willow won't mind, since she's got far more class than this rapidly aging witch.

Hollywood publicist Angie Meyer says Griffin’s targeting of Willow, a minor, is even worse.

“To attack a young girl solely because of her last name seems rather contradictory of the types of justice she champions for others,” Meyer said. “A 50-year-old woman who chooses to attack a 16-year-old girl publicly at a time when cyber-bullying and teenage suicide are at their highest reported rates, not only sets irreconcilable example for others, it’s tasteless, immoral, and frankly – classless."

Frankly, she's just looking for attention and her dwindling audience will probably lap it up. But it makes her look pathetic and small. But when you washed up and desperate, you'll do anything for cheap laughs.

"Somebody's Got To Knock Some Sense Into That Idiot"

Via Mediaite

You have to watch this interview with mixed martial artist (MMA) Jacob Volkmann, who when asked who he would like to fight next mentioned Obama. The guy is a chiropractor in his day job. The good part comes right at the end.



Also notice the reporters condescending attitude towards Sarah Palin. For these people nothing seems to strike more fear in their hearts then a little five foot something hockey mom from America's last frontier.

'The Old Way of Solving the Problem was Continuing to Raise Taxes on People, and We Just Can't Do That Anymore'

What radical, tea-bagging enemy of "working families" uttered this blasphemous line upon taking office?

Why, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, of course. Money-grubbing teacher's unions hardest hit.

Read my lips: No new taxes -- and that includes levies on wealthy New Yorkers, Gov. Cuomo vowed yesterday.

Cuomo said he was against extending a "temporary" income-tax surcharge imposed on high-income earners in 2009 and set to expire at the end of 2011, despite having to close a massive $10 billion budget gap.

Cuomo indicated that renewing the surcharge would amount to a tax hike, which would violate his campaign pledge not to boost taxes.

"The old way of solving the problem was continuing to raise taxes on people, and we just can't do that anymore. The working families of New York cannot afford tax increases. The answer is going to have to be that we're going to have to reduce government spending," he said.

Ahh, the old "working families" line. But in a departure from the other 99.99% of living Democrats, Cuomo is thinking realistically.

Democrats often exclude higher-income earners when they invoke the phrase "working families" during tax-policy discussions.

But Cuomo said working families includes higher-income earners.

"They work, too," he said, noting that his opposition to tax hikes is "across the board."

What? This is sacrilege! Doesn't he know all those evil rich people just wake up wealthy one day and do nothing to earn it? You know, like his former in-laws, the Kennedys. Oh wait, they don't count when it comes to Democrat demagoguery.

Naturally this isn't going over well with the blood-sucking, tax-eating leeches.

United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said extending the tax surcharge on the wealthy has to be considered. Trying to solve the $10 billion budget gap solely through spending reductions would lead to a "catastrophic budget" akin to the city's 1975 fiscal crisis that fueled massive layoffs of teachers, cops and firefighters, and eliminated school programs and delayed crucial bridge maintenance, he said.

If Cuomo is smart he'll do just as his cohort across the Hudson, Chris Christie, has done, and take on the unions. Who knows, a few YouTube speeches later and he'll become a national icon.

Acronym Fail: House Republicans Propose Two-Page Bill to Repeal Obamacare - "RTJKHCLA"

That would be the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act.

Well, at least it's blunt and descriptive. And at a mere two pages, even John Conyers could probably take a crack at reading it - without the assistance of a couple of lawyers. He might even comprehend it.


HR__-Repeal -

h/t Michelle Malkin. Cross-posted.

Nothing Headline of the Day: 'Tennessee Climate Change is So Subtle It's Hard to Gauge'

Gee, I wonder why that is?

Could it be because "climate change" - what people in the old days used to call "the weather" - is a completely concocted threat to the environment?

Nah! There must be a more sophisticated explanation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture chief calls climate change "one of the greatest threats facing our planet," but little attention is being paid to it in Tennessee's farming world.

More rain is falling in autumn in the Southeast than a century ago. Droughts have increased in spring and summer, and the temperature has made a slight move upward, particularly since 1970.

It's projected to continue to rise, according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Increasingly extreme weather is likely, such as heavier downpours and more intense droughts in some areas.

Yet change in Tennessee could be difficult to tabulate, according to Joanne Logan, an associate professor of biosystems engineering and soil engineering at the University of Tennessee.

"In Tennessee, everything is pretty subtle," she said, adding that research has not been plentiful when it comes to agriculture and climate change here.

If small changes are occurring under the radar, a trigger point could be reached suddenly where ecosystems as a whole could fail, unable to make changes quickly enough to keep up, she said.

On the other hand, it's entirely possible that the ecosystem will continue to function pretty much like normal. So, you know...

Cross-posted.

New Enviro-Friendly Cremations: Being Freeze-Dried and Smashed to Bits

Awhile back we brought you the exciting news of eco-friendly cremations and coffins made of recycled cardboard. Now in another bid to become more environmentally friendly crematoriums in the UK are looking at ways of freeze-drying and dissolving bodies. It must be Al Gore-approved, I assume.

Being freeze dried and smashed into little pieces sounds like the stuff of sci-fi horror movies.

But it is one of two methods of dealing with our dearly departed that could soon be available from a funeral director near you.

And in keeping with sci-fi’s often chilling view of the future, the details are not for the squeamish.

The process – called promession, or cryomation – involves using liquid nitrogen to chill the body to -196c, leaving it so brittle that it can be ‘fragmented’ on a vibrating mat.

A magnet then removes metal objects such as fillings and artificial limbs, leaving a sterile powder – giving a whole new meaning to ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’.

The second method is even more disturbing.

Known as resomation, it sees bodies placed in silk bags and submerged in an alkaline solution that has been heated to 160c. Flesh, organs and bones all dissolve under the onslaught, leaving behind a combination of green-brown fluid and white powder.

Sounds like fun.

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Obama Signals Full Speed Ahead on Cap and Trade

Today's big announcement out of the Barry O White House is the appointment of yet another environmental radical to his team, this time with the fancy title environmental economist. The man selected to this position is Nat Keohane, who has a long track record of arguing for a cap and trade policy as well as being a fellow traveler on the global warming crazy train, along with all the other members of Obama's energy and environmental team.

Keohane has participated in a number of expert workshops and panels on key issues such as the design of cap-and-trade programs and the regulation of carbon markets. He also presented a paper at the NYU climate finance conference in Abu Dhabi in May.

Keohane attended the international climate negotiations in Bonn as part of the EDF delegation. He was also one of roughly 100 experts from around the world invited to participate in the Scoping Meeting for the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which took place in Venice in July.

In the video below he explains how a cap and trade policy would work, leaving out the fact that it has contributed significantly to Europe's financial woes.

The Facts of Cap-and-Trade from Clean Energy Works on Vimeo.

He also seems to have some issues with Hummers. The same engine that is in a Hummer is also in dozens of other models of cars, but you know how the image of a Hummer works, and for this reason this makes him a very good propagandist.

In 2007, he had a post on Yahoo Green where he lays out exactly what kind of environmental economist he is.

This is where we part company. Technological innovation is not most quickly and efficiently implemented by government programs. Markets are much more nimble and able to respond in real time to what works and what doesn't. Our best hope is to get the power of markets working for us through a cap-and-trade system.

Global warming is a classic example of market failure. The pollution that causes global warming has skyrocketed because the environmental costs are hidden, and we don't factor them into our decisions. Factories and power plants pay for the fuel they burn, but not for the pollution they emit. The solution is to harness the power of market forces by establishing firm caps on greenhouse gas emissions.

Gird your loins, America. What Obama couldn't accomplish through a Democrat-controlled congress, he will now attempt to achieve through executive action.

I wonder if any press reports will contain information on this guy's positions or will it be like everything else liberal related: something to be ignored since they back such policies.

Stupid: The Hill Pushes 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll to Claim Most People Want Increased Taxes On the Rich

So here we are on the first Monday of the new year as the GOP is ready to assume control of the House. So what does The Hill push as its top story this morning? Why a dubious poll conducted by 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair claiming most Americans want increased taxes on those evil rich people.

Really? Is this the best they can do to push their agenda?

Increased taxes on high earners should be the first step toward balancing the federal budget, a new poll suggested Monday.

Raising taxes on the rich beats out cuts to defense spending, Medicare or Social Security as U.S. adults' top preference on how to close the deficit, according to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll.

Other notable questions in this "poll" include "Which one of these fashion items would you most like to see fall out of style for good?" and "Which one of these fantasy worlds would you most like to visit?"

I'd like to visit the fantasy world where Hill writer Michael O'Brien lives so I could slap him upside the head.

From the VF link:

NOTE: This poll was conducted by telephone November 29–December 2, 2010, at the CBS News interviewing facility among a random sample of 1,137 adults nationwide. Some low-percentage answer choices have been omitted.

Of course we can expect other news outlets to pick up the ball and run with this one.

Also note the title of the article at Vanity Fair: The Febraury 2011 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll.

Febraury?

Update: As predicted, the lefty thumb-suckers are running with it.

By the Way, Did I Mention That the Falcons are in the Playoffs?

While the boss here had to suffer through another less then stellar season with his New York Giants, I have silently held my breath week after week waiting for the Atlanta Falcons to fall to earth. Well, so far they haven't, and they are actually playing like a real team. Sure, there have been a few bumps but overall they wound up with the best record in the NFC and so have earned a week off while the pretenders go and beat each other up.

Even now you may notice my enthusiasm is a little muted, but growing up as a fan of Atlanta sports teams means learning to take a pragmatic outlook. Our baseball team has been a perennial division champion for over a decade but never seems to get to the World Series. Our basketball team is famous for late season collapses. The Falcons never really have been taken seriously and hey, we do have a hockey team too, which has had a mixed bag of results.

So anyway, congrats to the Falcons and I really hope they pull it off this year. And boss, better luck next year (not really).

Oh, and how the hell do the Seattle Seahawks even deserve to be in the playoffs with a losing record? But I do hope they beat Nawlins. And all you sports talkers: can we please, pleeze, pleeease, quit talking abut Michael Vick? I am sick of it. Ever since we got rid of him and a few other malcontents the team is exhibiting a positive attitude instead of acting like thugs.

Socialism's Toll in Europe

As the Obama Administration continues to adopt the European socialist model, evidence continues to surface concerning the abject failure of this disastrous economic system.

Francesca Esposito, 29 and exquisitely educated, helped win millions of euros in false disability and other lawsuits for her employer, a major Italian state agency. But one day last fall she quit, fed up with how surreal and ultimately sad it is to be young in Italy today.

It galled her that even with her competence and fluency in five languages, it was nearly impossible to land a paying job. Working as an unpaid trainee lawyer was bad enough, she thought, but doing it at Italy’s social security administration seemed too much. She not only worked for free on behalf of the nation’s elderly, who have generally crowded out the young for jobs, but her efforts there did not even apply to her own pension.

“It was absurd,” said Ms. Esposito, a strong-willed woman with a healthy sense of outrage.

The outrage of the young has erupted, sometimes violently, on the streets of Greece and Italy in recent weeks, as students and more radical anarchists protest not only specific austerity measures in flattened economies but a rising reality in Southern Europe: People like Ms. Esposito feel increasingly shut out of their own futures. Experts warn of volatility in state finances and the broader society as the most highly educated generation in the history of the Mediterranean hits one of its worst job markets.

Politicians are slowly beginning to take notice. Italy’s president, Giorgio Napolitano, devoted his year-end message on Friday to “the pervasive malaise among young people,” weeks after protests against budget cuts to the university system brought the issue to the fore.

Giuliano Amato, an economist and former Italian prime minister, was even more blunt. “By now, only a few people refuse to understand that youth protests aren’t a protest against the university reform, but against a general situation in which the older generations have eaten the future of the younger ones,” he recently told Corriere della Sera, Italy’s largest newspaper.

You see, there are no jobs for these extensively government-educated people to find. Add to that the fact that it is very costly to try to eliminate existing workers and you have a situation where employers do not want to hire and incur the high cost and risk of adding staff.

In other words, socialism has destroyed the job market in these countries. Which then leads us to the obvious question: Is this the future of the United States under Obama's socialist model?

To quote a former Alaska Governor: "You bet'cha."

After all, Obama did promise change.

The Legend Continues: Outgoing NM Gov. Bill Richardson Refuses to Pardon 'Billy the Kid'

Let's face it - once Billy Joel wrote that ballad glorifying his murderous legacy, the Kid's chances of ever being granted a posthumous gubernatorial pardon dropped dramatically.

(CNN) -- Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico will not pardon legendary Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid in the death of a law enforcement officer more than a century ago, he said Friday.

Richardson made the announcement on ABC's "Good Morning America" the same day he leaves office.

The issue facing Richardson was whether one of his predecessors, Gov. Lew Wallace, promised about 130 years ago to pardon Billy the Kid -- known more formally as William H. Bonney -- for killing Sheriff William Brady of Lincoln County, New Mexico.

Wallace has long been said to have promised a pardon if Bonney testified before a grand jury that was investigating another killing. Wallace did not follow through on that promise, many say, and the reasons are debated.

Richardson said he believes that Wallace did promise to pardon Bonney. Yet there is "historical ambiguity" about why Wallace did not follow through, Richardson said, and he did not want to second-guess the former governor's decision.

"It was a very close call," Richardson said. "The romanticism appealed to me to issue a pardon, but the facts and the evidence did not support it."

Cross-posted.

Print It Out and Laminate It: Dave Barry's 2010 Year in Review

Interesting tidbit from this epic must-read-twice column: There apparently was a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010!

I had nearly forgotten all about that - probably because the terms "Deepwater Horizon", "Gulf oil disaster", and "Obama's Katrina to the 10th power" have all been banned from the media lexicon as the result of a White House executive order.

I insist that you read the whole thing.

Speaking of growing menaces, in...

MAY

...the pesky Deepwater Horizon oil spill dominates the news as BP tries a series of increasingly desperate measures to plug the leak, including, at one point, a 167,000-pound wad of pre-chewed Juicy Fruit. President Obama, eager to show that he is on top of the situation, develops severe forehead cramps from standing on the shore and frowning with concern at the water. Meanwhile, Congress holds televised hearings that establish, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Congress is very upset about, and totally opposed to, large oil spills. Despite these heroic efforts, the leak continues to grow, and by the end of the month is threatening suburban Des Moines.

h/t: Moe Lane. Cross-posted.

NYC Sanitation Slowdown a Life Saver

A week after the blizzard, something good actually comes from the sanitation slowdown.

The blizzard saved his life.

A despondent West Side man took a leap out of his ninth-floor window this afternoon — but was saved when he landed onto a huge pile of garbage that’s been collecting since New York’s devastating post-Christmas blizzard, officials said.

The man apparently attempted his death leap at 12:04 p.m. from a building on W. 45th St. between 8th and 9th avenues, police said. The man, in his 30s, landed on his back and was taken to Bellevue Hospital

A worker at the building said the man is a resident at the building on the ninth floor.

“I can’t believe the garbage broke his fall,” said an astounded neighbor, Ingrid Suprock, 26, who lives next door.

“I guess the trash saved the guy.”

For the first time in a torturous week, what has been going all wrong, finally went right.

Collecting trash has been piling up around the city — as sanitation workers try to catch up with snow removal that has bogged down the city since the day after Christmas.

I almost expect Bloomberg to take credit for saving the guy's life.

George C. Looney: Obama Has Kept Campaign Promises on Sudan

An actor reading the script. Good boy, George. Now jet off to your Italian villa and shut the fuck up.

Actor and activist George Clooney said Sunday that President Obama has kept his campaign promises to end genocide and get tough with the government in Sudan.

Clooney appeared on ABC's "This Week" to talk about continuing crisis in the African nation as the country faces a heated secession referendum a week from now.

When asked if Obama has kept his vows to tackle issues in the war-torn nation, Clooney said, "Yes, he has."

"It's a tough one to keep, you know?" he said. "There's -- it's a very complicated situation. It is going to get a lot more complicated. We met with the president. The president seems to be very much on top of the issue.

"And we want to make sure -- and our job is to keep the pressure on to make sure that -- that there's no slippage in that at all," Clooney added.

Clooney's partner in Sudan efforts, John Prendergast of the Enough Project in Washington, said it was "President Obama's moment."

"You know, the United States is the biggest actor in Sudan," Prendergast said. "We can have a major influence on whether or not a deal is struck between the North and the South to prevent a war, and we can have a major influence on whether human rights violations continue in Darfur. That's going to take presidential leadership."

So how does any of that drivel explain this?

About 600 people died in fighting in the Sudan region of Darfur in May, the highest monthly toll since peacekeepers were deployed in 2008, officials say.

The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force said most had died in fighting between Sudan's army and rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem).

The number of deaths has risen sharply since Jem walked out of peace talks last month.

So violence six months ago was higher than any time in two years, but Obama's in charge of things? Huh?

Meanwhile, the Washington Post is expecting violence to explode on Obama's watch.

"This is the first time I have seen the U.S. government devote so many high-level resources to preventing violence before it happens rather than responding to it after the fact," Samantha Power told me in an interview. Power - whose 2002 book, "A Problem From Hell," chronicled the world's failure to deal with 20th-century genocides and mass slaughters from Armenia and the Holocaust to Rwanda and Bosnia - is now an adviser to Obama.

But these efforts and resources may not be enough. Yes, the world is watching: In addition to Washington's diplomatic push, the African Union is trying to broker peace, European nations are sending economic assistance, and 10,000 U.N. peacekeepers are in southern Sudan monitoring the situation. But the sad reality is that even an actively engaged international community may be unable to head off mass violence in the months or years ahead.

A coup in Khartoum, a cattle raid in the south that escalates into tribal violence, a rogue militia commander deciding to start a new conflict in a fragile border region - there is virtually no limit to the plausible scenarios that could lead to renewed fighting in Sudan. Ethnic and economic tensions, the willingness of political leaders to manipulate them and the easy availability of weapons will continue to make the country vulnerable to violence, even genocide.

If the referendum is not held on time or is tampered with by the north, "there is a huge potential for war," former guerrilla soldier Acuil Malith Banggol told me during my recent trip to the south. "Both parties are arming themselves, and there will be more destruction. . . . There is no way southern Sudan is going to accept being humiliated and subject to slavery, racial discrimination and religious discrimination."

So despite all the efforts of Obama and a guy adept at reading cue cards, violence and genocide are soon expected.

Obama Advisor: Not Raising the Debt Ceiling is Insanity or Something

Sure, let's remain sane by spending ourselves into oblivion.

Top White House economic advisor Austan Goolsbee warned Sunday that a congressional failure to rise the nation's debt limit early this year would be "catastrophic."

"It pains me that we would even be talking about this," Goolsbee told ABC's "This Week."

"This is not a game. You know, the debt ceiling is not something to toy with. … If we hit the debt ceiling, that's essentially defaulting on our obligations, which is totally unprecedented in American history. The impact on the economy would be catastrophic. I mean, that would be a worse financial economic crisis than anything we saw in 2008."

Yet another unprecedented milestone for our golfer-in-chief. I could swear his boss just said we all have to work together now. Calling critics insane is a funny way of going about it.

The current debt limit is $14.3 trillion, which Washington is expected to hit in February. A failure to raise the ceiling would prevent Congress from borrowing funds to pay the country's obligations. Some conservatives — notably many in the incoming class of Tea Party-backed Republicans — are threatening to vote against raising the cap, arguing that the U.S. simply can't afford to rely so heavily on borrowing.

Goolsbee argued Sunday the country can't afford not to.

"If we get to the point where you've damaged the full faith and credit of the United States, that would be the first default in history caused purely by insanity," he said.

I suppose cutting spending is also insane?

BS Artist Valerie Jarrett's Latest Masterpiece: Obama Regrets "Spending Almost Every Waking Hour in Washington"

She can pile it pretty high, can't she?



Via Breitbart. Cross-posted.

Lamest Santa Ever

Someone should sue this tool on Santa's behalf.

Just for making him look bad.

Massive Surge in 'Hate Crimes' Against Muslims in NY

Oh wait, there wasn't any surge. In fact, there were hardly any so-called hate crimes against Muslims reported in 2009. CAIR hardest hit.

Did you hear about the surge in hate crimes in New York? Bias against Muslims is the driving force, proving what a horribly victimized minority they are.

Just kidding.

Hate crimes are up 14 percent across the state, but those against Muslims are a tiny fraction. Of the 683 reported to police in 2009, only 11 targeted Muslims. Yes, 11. In 2008, there were eight.

Compare that with the 251 against Jews, or 37 percent of the total. Anti-black crimes were down slightly, to 144, or 21 percent of the total.

The biggest rise was in crimes against gays, from 70 to 107.

Remember those numbers the next time someone, maybe someone in City Hall or the White House, warns against a rising tide of Islamophobia. Use the facts to shut them up.

So we had 251 crimes against Jews and 11 against Muslims. Yet who gets all the attention whenever there's an incident? It's probably safe to say of those 11 that some of them were of the made-up variety, if history is any indication.

'They Just Sat in Their Car All Night With the Heat Running'

One of the first orders of business for New York's new Governor, Andrew Cuomo, should be to launch an investigation into the outrageous behavior of the New York City sanitation workers. Their actions have simply made it too easy to ignore. And the hits just keep coming.

Instead of plowing, they got plowed.

A group of on-duty Sanitation supervisors is under investigation for allegedly buying booze and chilling in their cozy department car for hours Monday night after the blizzard stranded a bus and three snowplows blocks away.

The city Department of Investigation is probing the incident after witnesses said four snow blowers blew off their duties to get blitzed, buying two six-packs of beer from a Brooklyn bodega. The workers then walked five blocks to their car, which was in 20 inches of snow in the middle of 18th at McDonald avenues near the F train entrance, passing the stuck bus and idle plows on 18th Avenue between Third and Fourth streets.

The four remained in the idling sedan until morning -- then told their bosses they could do nothing about the blizzard because they had run out of gas, one witness said.

"They just sat in their car all night with the heat running," the witness said.

Customers who saw the group buying beer at the Ocean Mini Mart at 3917 18th Ave. in Kensington shouted at the workers.

"They were saying, 'How can you do this? You should be outside!' " a witness told The Post.

But the Sanitation team was unmoved.

"One guy said, 'Don't worry about it. We know what we're doing,' " the witness recalled.

A block from the deli, six riders remained on the snow-stalled bus all night.

The supervisors had shown up at the deli near Ocean Parkway at 8 p.m. when a smiling, uniformed Sanitation honcho bought a six-pack of Heineken Light, the witnesses said. About 30 minutes later, another worker from the group bought a six-pack of Corona Light.

Later, they ducked inside their car and hunkered down.

"I saw them drinking, but I'm not sure what it was," said a witness who lives in the area.

In the morning, the four men returned to the deli, where they were heard telling their bosses over the phone that their car had run out of gas.

"This guy was on his cell and said, 'We're out of fuel,' " a witness said.

Department of Investigation Assistant Commissioner Keith Schwam said "we're looking into what happened."

Meanwhile, it appears those were weren't getting drunk were calling in sick.

It was a real snow job.

Between 660 and 720 Sanitation workers called in sick for the cleanup of last week's blizzard -- more than double the usual rate, The Post has learned.

About 11 to 12 percent of the Sanitation Department's 6,000-strong force didn't show up for work on Monday or Tuesday, city officials confirmed, as 20 inches of snow brought the Apple to a near-standstill.

This Teleprompter Is Making Me Very Sleepy

Oh my. It's only the first day of the new year, and already TOTUS is kicking Obama's butt.

Looks like someone needs to grab some shuteye.


File this one under "Random YouTube Screenshot I Couldn't Resist Posting."

For all you masochists out there, Breitbart has the full video of Obama's weekly radio address - whereby the President insists that incoming Republicans must 'share responsibility' for his idiotic and politically toxic policies, or something.

Cross-posted.

'Extremists' Blow Up Stalin Statue in Ukraine

Communist twits hardest hit.

Extremists blew up a controversial monument to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin on New Year's night in southeastern Ukraine in an "act of terror", the local Communist Party said on Saturday.

The bust in the city of Zaporizhia, unveiled this May, caused a heated controversy in Ukraine which is still split between its nationalist west and the more Russian orientated east which fondly remembers the Soviet past.

"A criminal broke into the grounds of the Communist Party regional headquarters, and laid an explosive charge which detonated after a few minutes," the Communist Party said.

"The statue of Stalin was destroyed as a result of the blast," the Communists said in a statement. It said that the explosion inflicted serious damage on the building but there were no casualties.

The explosion took place at 10:40 pm (2040 GMT) on New Year's Eve, it said.

"By a pure chance there were no casualties. Most probably the explosive was filled with the metal items," lawmaker Oleksiy Baburin, head of the Zaporizhia Communists told a press conference.

"This is not a hooliganism but a terrorist attack," he added as quoted by Communist party press service.

Smart Diplomacy: Hillary Has 'Friendly Chat' With Communist Thug Chavez

Maybe she's taking notes for her boss on how to destroy the economy.

Despite a simmering diplomatic row, President Hugo Chavez and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were seen having a brief, friendly chat Saturday at the inauguration of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.

"They talked and smiled, at least for five minutes. It looked like a social conversation, both were smiling," a Brazilian official who witnessed the encounter told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The encounter came only three days after the United States revoked the visa of Venezuela's ambassador in Washington, in reprisal for Chavez's rejection of the US president's appointed ambassador to Caracas.

But Chavez and Clinton were all smiles as they mingled with the presidents of Chile and Colombia and the prime minister of Portugal while waiting to meet Rousseff.

At one point, Chavez extended his hand to Clinton, who shook it, smiling. They chatted for a few minutes before moving on to formally greeting Rousseff.

Gasoline 'Expert': 'A Dollar More Per Gallon Isn't That Much'

Whenever you want some mind-numbing idiocy, go find an expert.

The price of oil is poised for another run at $100 a barrel after a global economic rebound sent it surging 34 percent since May. That could push gasoline prices to $4 a gallon by summer in some parts of the country, experts say.

Flying, shipping a package and ordering a pizza all likely would get more expensive in the new year if that happens and companies pass along higher energy costs. Some economists say rising energy prices will slow economic growth.

The U.S. is the world's largest oil consumer, but prices since spring have been on a roll primarily because of rising demand in developing countries, especially China. China's oil consumption is expected to rise 5 percent next year; that compares with less than 1 percent growth forecast for the U.S.

Benchmark oil for February delivery rose $1.54 on Friday to end the year at $91.38 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It reached $92.06 earlier in the day, the highest since Oct. 6, 2008. Nationwide gasoline pump prices now average $3.072 per gallon.

Gasoline expert Fred Rozell predicts that 15 states -- including Alaska, Hawaii, Connecticut and Rhode Island -- will see gasoline prices top $4 a gallon by Memorial Day. "A dollar more per gallon isn't that much -- probably about $750 more per year for each motorist, but there's a psychological aspect to gas prices," he said. "People are going to be up in arms about this."

Yes, and unlike when prices surged a couple of years ago we won't have Bush to blame for it. Or will we?

Four bucks a gallon might soon seem like a bargain.

Oil is again a favorite of big speculators seeking quick return on their bets against a weaker dollar. Energy analysts predict crude will hit $100 a barrel early in the year and stay there, causing concern for indebted consumers.

"Consumers can't really handle $100 crude," said energy analyst Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover.

What hurts is that each 20-cent jump at the gas pump due to higher crude means consumers have to pump $100 million a day into their tanks instead of spending it elsewhere. At $6 a gallon, that jump would amount to an added $1 billion a day.

Christie Addresses the Idiots

One of the dumbest stories to come along in awhile is the lame whining about Governor Chris Christie being in Florida when the snowstorm hit the Northeast last weekend. Here he calmly explains things to the morons. He shouldn't even have to.

While New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stayed home and took a media lashing for the slow response to December's devastating snowstorm, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie got some sun.

And he's not sorry. At all.

The Republican governor called the criticism of his family trip to Disney World during the week of a crippling blizzard "carping and craziness."

"I made a promise to my children that at the end of my first year of governor that I was going to take them to Disney World," Christie said at a press conference on Friday.

"My first and most important responsibility, in my view, is as a husband and a father, and I think I made that pretty clear to the people of New Jersey when I was running [for New Jersey governor]," he added.

When the storm hit Christie's Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno was in Mexico with her sick father, leaving Senate President Stephen Sweeney -- a Democrat -- in charge.

How dare Ms. Guadagno visit her ill father.

Democrat on Death Panels: 'The Longer This Goes Unnoticed, the Better Our Chances of Keeping It'

They celebrate death, but just don't want you rubes to know about it. Democrats: The Party of Death.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is distancing himself from a memo sent by his office that urged health reform advocates not to advertise new end-of-life counseling regulations to avoid reviving talk of “death panels.”

The weeks-old memo recommended that end-of-life advocates celebrate a “quiet” victory out of concern that Republican leaders would “use this small provision to perpetuate the ‘death panel’ myth.”

SO he's talking about instituting death panels, but don't go perpetuating the "myth" of death panels. Got that?

Blumenauer now says he regrets the letter's secretive language, which has only bolstered conservatives’ claims that the Obama administration tried to sneak the provision in under the radar.

“If I had seen the memo, I would have suggested it be worded differently,” Blumenauer told The Hill.

So now he's claiming he never saw a memo sent by is own office? Sure.

In the memo, first reported on Dec. 26 by The New York Times, Blumenaeur’s office expressed concern that new attention to end-of-life care planning could doom an end-of-life provision included in a Medicare regulation issued last month.

“Thus far, it seems that no press or blogs have discovered it, but we will be keeping a close watch and may be calling on you if we need a rapid, targeted response,” the memo read. “The longer this goes unnoticed, the better our chances of keeping it.”

To paraphrase Alan Grayson: Democrats want you to die, and die quickly.