A shock? Really? Who’s  shocked?

A majority of Americans think the federal government poses a threat to rights of Americans, according to a new national poll.

56%    OK, so I am a little surprised the number isn’t higher. Predictable, there is a large difference between the number of  Democrats(37) and Republicans(70)  who feel the government is a threat; with Independents’ (63) numbers more closely resembling the Right.

Anyone know if there was a similar poll taken during the previous presidency?

I caught a lot of it (yeah, slow day), and don’t worry, you didn’t miss much. The One descended from Mount Olympus to hold this extraordinary affair for the cameras, a PR maneuver designed to push the umpteenth version of health care “reform” across the finish line. If he was expecting more political cover for congressional Dems to move forward though, particularly via reconciliation, I think he’s going to be disappointed. The Democrats relied way too heavily on anecdotal sob stories, in my opinion, attempting to drive the debate through typical bleeding heart kabuki. Obama did well, filibustering the proceedings as best he could, but at times appeared petulant and downright condescending. (Unless you live in a cave, that should be no big shocker.) The GOP did fairly well, too, I thought, despite not having nearly as much time as Barry and the Dems did to make their case.

Three vids for your viewing pleasure. The first is Obama’s childish swipe at McCain:

Yeah McCain, don’t bother to call out his Highness on the promises he made during the campaign about silly notions of “transparency” and an “open process”. Election’s over, dontcha know?

Next up is probably the GOP’s best moment, from WI Rep. Paul Ryan. A wee bit on the wonky side, but well worth the time: Read the rest of this entry »

Yikes:

“The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children,” said Marshall, a Republican.

“In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.”

Don’t think it works that way, Bob. I’m as anti-abortion as they come, but this is just, well, extremely dumb. He’s subsequently regretted the “misimpression” his “poorly chosen words may have created”, but you can’t un-ring a bell. Should he resign, as all these petitions and idiotic Facebook campaigns are pushing for? Sure…as long as every other politician who has said something stupid and offensive goes, too. I’m all for cleaning house, and that’ll just about take care of it.

Ill-advised stupid and the accompanying outrage has been around a lot of late. Drudge recently featured a blurb from Harry Reid, who said we needed the so-called “jobs” bill because unemployed men tend to become abusive. Clumsy? Yes. Sorta true, of both men and women? Yes. Deserving of the attention the remark is receiving? Nope. Sarah Palin, recently, took an unfunny line in a recent episode of Family Guy and turned it into some extremely veiled shot at her son Trig, who has Downs. Here is the offending clip…I’m not even sure what the joke is supposed to be. That all of Palin’s kids have Downs? Or that all former Alaska governors have children with Downs? Of course they had her in mind when they wrote it, but it ought to be dismissed as the lazy writing on a stupid cartoon that it is. And, of course, the whole thing has been turned around on Palin as she is being accused of playing the victim card.

Whatever.

Finally, after almost a year of letting congressional Democrats fall on the proverbial sword over what he made his signature issue, President Obama is set to unveil his own specific legislation on health care reform. Why he’s choosing this exact moment, when momentum for passage would seem to be at it’s nadir, to finally demonstrate some leadership and try to parlay his still-high personal popularity into getting something passed is unclear to me, but I’m sure it’s a welcome change for Democrats on Capitol Hill. Not that the proposal is any better, natch:

Until now, Obama has argued what should and should not be in a health care overhaul, but the legislation itself has largely been left up to majority Democrats in Congress to draft. It’s the most detailed proposal yet to come from Obama.

His plan is expected to require most Americans to carry health insurance coverage, with federal subsidies to help many afford the premiums. Hewing close to a stalled Senate bill, it would bar insurance companies from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more. A tax on high-cost health insurance plans objected to by House Democrats — and labor unions — would be scaled back. The expected price tag is around $1 trillion over 10 years.

Insurance companies would have to cover those with pre-existing conditions, not charge them more even though they’re going to be more costly to cover, and would be leaving any and all future premium increases to the mercy of “regulators”. Why shouldn’t those that are sick pay more? Oh, I know in the Pollyanna-ish world libs inhabit that doesn’t seem right, but the fact is those people are going to be utilizing more services. They’re going to cost more, just as the idiot teenager who wrecks mommy’s Volvo is obviously more of a risk, and therefore costlier, than the 28-year old with nary even a parking ticket on his record.

The GOP should boycott this upcoming summit. The President has no intention of working with them, and the White House has made it clear they’ll ram it down our throats regardless of the political or popular opposition. To wit:

In the course of unveiling Obama’s new health reform proposal on a conference call with reporters this morning, White House advisers made it clearer than ever before: If the GOP filibusters health reform, Dems will move forward on their own and pass it via reconciliation.

The assertion, which is likely to spark an angry response from GOP leaders, ups the stakes in advance of the summit by essentially daring Republicans to try to block reform.

“The President expects and believes the American people deserve an up or down vote on health reform,” White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said on the call.

So what is the incentive for the GOP during this PR stunt, exactly? The American people do not want health care reform as it has been presented thus far, and I doubt very much that using a budgetary maneuver like reconciliation to shove it through is going to help. Ignoring popular opposition to the proposals. Ignoring the results of elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and especially Massachusetts, where independents abandoned the Democrats in droves. Ignoring what Americans are actually more concerned about, like finding jobs. Ignoring legitimate concern over federal spending and deficits. Passing this turkey via a highly partisan and relatively obscure process, while oppositions remains where it is, would be a huge mistake imo, a grand misreading of the tea leaves if there’s ever been one.

Of course, the governor would expect the most vulnerable among us to shoulder a greater burden. It’s the only agenda Republicans know:

The VA Gov. is proposing to pull millions of dollars from social programs, including those meant to help the homeless and prevent teen pregnancy, as a downturn in the economy and increase in expensive mandates squeezes state funds.

His two-year spending plan would kill several initiatives and cut many more, reductions that advocates worry would hurt already vulnerable populations…

Especially hard hit are non-mandated programs funded through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a federal grant that offers short-term payments and other services to low-income parents.

Oh, wait, did I say our Republican governor? I meant to say Democrat Tim Kaine, who proposed the above cuts in his budget blueprint just a couple months ago. Fancy that. Just a little something to bear in mind as you hear the inevitable whining concerning Governor McDonnell’s planned spending cuts, which are set to be announced sometime today. I’ve seen a lot of commentary already this morning about those dastardly Rethuglicans (witty, ain’t it?) wanting children to starve and Grandma to go without her arthritis medication, all the while killing the poor, so I guess Tim Kaine was of a similar mindset huh?

One of the biggest issues many seem to be having, at least initially, concerns funding cuts to the public school breakfast program. Why…where and what, exactly, will the children eat if the school doesn’t provide it? Who is out there that could possibly step in and provide the little darlings a bowl of Cheerios, a Pop Tart, ham and eggs, or whatever is on the menu? Maybe…oh, I don’t know, their parents at home? As much as these sorts of things are popular, in lean economic times with a budget in the red cuts have to be made, and a school breakfast program is not a necessary service of government. According to that Times-Disptach article I linked to, revenue to state coffers for the fiscal year is already running close to 5% below last year’s levels. What about raising taxes? Voters had a choice to elect someone who was decidedly more open to that possibility than McDonnell, and they did not. Besides that, raising the gas tax or the sales tax or the state income tax would still burden the poor too, unless of course we only want to target the “rich”-otherwise known as small business owners, employers, investors, and so on. Plus, doing so during an economic downturn has never been a prudent course of action.

There is certainly a disconnect in this country when it comes to the tax burden people are willing to bear and the desire for help to be there for people when they need it. Once a government program is in place people can’t possibly imagine life without it. What will the homeless do? What will the kids eat? I’m sure even the most partisan of Democrats would admit that Governor McDonnell would probably prefer not to cut anything. Same with Kaine. Same with governors and state houses all across the country. Democrat Governor Paterson in New York? He’s proposed over $5 billion in spending cuts, most of which will hit health care and yes, education. Democrat Governor Granholm of Michigan? Last year, it was spending cuts to, among other things, Medicaid recipients and schools. When faced with little choice, though, what else are they expected to do?

Three cheers for the superintendent, imo:

Under threat of losing their jobs if they didn’t go along with extra work for not a lot of extra pay, the Central Falls Teachers’ Union refused Friday morning to accept a reform plan for one of the worst-performing high schools in the state.

The superintendent didn’t blink either.

After learning of the union’s position, School Supt. Frances Gallo notified the state that she was switching to an alternative she was hoping to avoid: firing the entire staff at Central Falls High School. In total, about 100 teachers, administrators and assistants will lose their jobs.

The state gave the district four options for fixing the lousy school. Gallo went to the union with the first option, which they in turn rejected. Why? Because the union balked at requiring teachers to work an extra 25 minutes/day without an accompanying rise in pay. So, Gallo has gone with Plan B. Of course, negotiations are ongoing and it’s possible this step is avoided, but before bemoaning the poor teacher’s plight consider the following:

“We have a graduation rate of 48 percent. I have 19-year-olds in classes with 14-year-olds. It’s the middle of the school year and 50 percent of the students at the high school are failing all of their classes,” Gallo said…

The average teacher’s salary at the high school ranges between $72,000 and $78,000 a year, because most are at the district’s top step, Gallo said.

Over $72K/year to achieve a gaudy graduation rate of, um, under 50%, and they still have the cajones to demand more pay for a mere 25 extra minutes/day of work? Are you kidding me? I’m not thinking city residents will have much sympathy for the greedy union bots, because according to Wikipedia (yes, I know, grain of salt and all that), the median household income in the city was just $22,628. So these teachers are making over three times as much as most of the households in Central Falls, at a school that is performing very poorly no less…and still that isn’t good enough. Unbelievable.

I say it’s well past time to clean house. Let them try to find a private sector job, in this economy, with the same rate of pay. Replace them with those that might actually appreciate making such a salary and who might be more willing to sacrifice more of their time to benefit the school.

Hard to watch…but, oddly compelling, too. I don’t care for these public proposals, as I think it should be a private and intimate moment. I’m guessing this dude is no longer a big fan, either:

No, I’m not kidding:

Unofficially, Feb. 13 is also known as “Mistress Day,” the day that straying boyfriends and husbands set aside for the “other woman” - since they’re spending the actual Valentine’s Day with their girlfriends and wives.

“It might not be a nationally celebrated day, but it’s at least a day to practice your ‘mistress retention’ skills,” says Noel Biderman, president of AshleyMadison.com, which sets up extramarital trysts for “when monogamy becomes monotony” and boasts 2 million registered members.

Yep, what a way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your loved one…spending the day before making sure the honey on the side is happy. And what exactly are mistress retention skills? These men are scumbags, IMO. Sadder still is the fact there is actually a service out there that believes it’s OK to hook up would be cheaters with their next fling. What a repugnant waste of bandwidth.

Speaking of cheaters, a recent interview Mark Sanford’s estranged wife, Jenny, gave to Barbara Walters:

South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford recalls how she made the “leap of faith” to marry husband Gov. Mark Sanford even though the groom refused to promise to be faithful, insisting that the clause be removed from their wedding vows.

“It bothered me to some extent, but … we were very young, we were in love,” she said in an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters to air on “20/20″ Friday. “I questioned it, but I got past it … along with other doubts that I had.”

I’m not suggesting Jenny Sanford asked for it, but why would you marry someone who apparently wanted the door left open to adultery? They were young, they were in love…and? I’ve never bought the idea that people, men especially, are incapable of monogamy and find that to be just a lame excuse, but if someone is admitting that they cannot commit to that type of relationship then that should bother more than just to some “extent”. If there is a clearer warning sign, I’m not sure what is.

If Mistress Day is indeed more than a myth, that pretty much means Tiger Woods is busier today than Santa Clause on Christmas Eve, no?

I’m not sure I understand all the brouhaha over this latest, incredibly lame, Palin “scandal”. So she wrote some notes on her hand, either for the speech she gave or for the Q & A afterward…why is this a big deal? You’d think all the greenie weenies on the Left would be thrilled that she didn’t use paper and kill a tree. The notion this makes her a hypocrite, because she goofed on Obama for his heavy use of a teleprompter? Apples and oranges, my liberal friends. How in the world do a few words scribbled on a palm compare to entire speeches read off a couple screens? He, this great orator for the ages, even dragged that thing to a school to address reporters with, for Christ’s sake.

But, it does mean she has no core principles which is why she needed to remind herself of certain talking points, right? Please. She had some themes she wanted to focus on, so she wrote them down. And, even if it did mean she was devoid of principle that just indicates she fits right in with every other politician in this country so again, what is the problem? Maybe she did know the questions beforehand…so? I have a sinking suspicion that Obama’s town halls haven’t exactly been stacked with totally spontaneous questions, either.

The bottom line? Who gives a rats behind! Our egghead President can’t even pronounce Navy corpsman correctly…even with a teleprompter. Yet, I’m supposed to consider him some intellectual giant with awesomely awesome rhetorical skills while lampooning the supposedly dumb Alaskan broad for writing on her hand? Give me a break.

Why, indeed:

Every political community includes some members who insist that their side has all the answers and that their adversaries are idiots. But American liberals, to a degree far surpassing conservatives, appear committed to the proposition that their views are correct, self-evident, and based on fact and reason, while conservative positions are not just wrong but illegitimate, ideological and unworthy of serious consideration…

It’s an odd time for liberals to feel smug. But even with Democratic fortunes on the wane, leading liberals insist that they have almost nothing to learn from conservatives. Many Democrats describe their troubles simply as a PR challenge, a combination of conservative misinformation — as when Obama charges that critics of health-care reform are peddling fake fears of a “Bolshevik plot” — and the country’s failure to grasp great liberal accomplishments. “We were so busy just getting stuff done . . . that I think we lost some of that sense of speaking directly to the American people about what their core values are,” the president told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in a recent interview. The benighted public is either uncomprehending or deliberately misinformed (by conservatives).

The whole thing is well worth your time. This phenomenon is quite prevalent within the “local” blogosphere, I’ve noticed, especially on certain sites, but you can certainly see it on a national level. For example (as the column notes), Democrats and those on the Left have convinced themselves that healthcare reform has lost support because, by golly, the American people aren’t sophisticated enough to “get” their high-minded legislation. They’ve used too many big words when talking about it, and of course the White House bully pulpit plus a mostly sympathetic media are no match for those evil “special interests” who wave shiny things and distract us all from the goodness that is ObamaCare. They’re just really bad at splainin’ stuff, you understand. And libs always know best.

Consider, too, the uproar over the pro-life Super Bowl ad slated to air later today, featuring Tim Tebow’s mom discussing the CHOICE she made to have her son. The National Organization for Women declared the ad, which no one has yet seen, “extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.” Really? Saith Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post:

I’m pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I’ve heard in the past week, I’ll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the “National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All The Time.” For one thing, Tebow seems smarter than they do…

Pam Tebow and her son feel good enough about that choice to want to tell people about it. Only, NOW says they shouldn’t be allowed to. Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikinis selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn’t.

And the debate over global warming, too. Nevermind that organizations and agencies promoting “climate change” have been caught including false and misleading data, or cherry picking the most convenient to their agenda, to support their claims. We are to just accept their findings regardless…and rub our faces with asbestos, natch.

Should you knuckledragging simpletons need this post explained to you gooder, I haz pictures I can drawz fer u.

UPDATE: Below the fold, you’ll find one of the Tebow ads running during the Super Browl pregame show. Please observe an official strong content warning for, um, the offensive and demeaning ‘celebrate family, celebrate life’ message. The horror- Read the rest of this entry »