So, you’ve stumbled onto my humble little blog. Perhaps you are a Millenial wondering why most of your friends aren’t fully employed. Or wondering why ObamaKare is being shoved down your throat. Or why your generation is on the hook for a national debt that stands at $17 $18 Trillion and counting. Maybe you are scratching your head wondering why your President thinks Global Warming the weather is more worrisome than Islamic Terror. And perhaps you’ve started to become aware there might be something the corrupt and biased lame stream media isn’t telling you. The answer, to these and other existential questions, is ... the Left - specifically, the modern American Progressive. Think of this site as a portal to a richer understanding of this answer, a portal purposely designed with a consciously cock-eyed bent to keep it entertaining. Because the First Amendment is forever and the Internet never forgets. (Plus you better figure out FICA isn't the name of a Swedish bikini model, before she eats your entire paycheck.)

How to use the portal? You could dive into my archive*. I was most active here 2010-2012, but that matters not. How many times do I need to demonstrate the central point? To wit, the political / ideological Left is a menace to the constitutional republic and must be resisted lest the American experiment in liberty devolve into socialist dystopia. If it's the more pointed hand-to-hand combat of the comment board that whets your appetite, click the 'My Disqus Comments' widget. I continue to visit that world from time to time as a light diversion. Or you could browse through my blog roll. It's a very representative collection of center-right blogs, though hardly exhaustive. I can't do the political / ideology thing 24x7, and you probably can't either. Leave that to the hysterical, talking point chanting, mob agitating, race baiting, election stealing, gaia worshiping, straw man torching, Islamic Terrorist appeasing, organized Left (aka OFA, MSNBC, UAW, SEIU, Think Progress, Media Matters, most of legacy media, the politically correct faculty lounge, anybody who belonged to Journolist, anybody connected to Occupy Wall Street, anything funded by George Soros or Tom Steyer, their paid Internet trolls, and the rest of the usual Team Leftie suspects).


*Re-posting encouraged. No need to ask for permission. Just follow the commonly accepted convention of acknowledging this site as original source with a link back. That way, you leave the asking for forgiveness to me.

A Table With Clickable Stuff

My
Profile
Subscribe
(FeedBurner)
Subscribe
(Email)
My Disqus
Comments
US Debt Clock
Fubar1
Fubar2
Fubar3

Enter your
email address:

Visit USADebtClock.com to learn more!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Just Because I Signed Up For the Blind Email Distribution List ...

... And positively shocked OccupyDC is not organized enough to have removed me from subject list by now. I mean, they did go to all that trouble to block me from posting comments on their site.

==

Occupy DC to defend our dream, right to sleep

We have a dream of a better world. Let us sleep so we have the energy to create it.

Participants of Occupy DC at McPherson Square, both sleeping members and non-sleeping members, will defend the public space we have used as our center for activism on this Monday, January 30th. The National Park Service has given notice that they will be giving citations to – i.e. likely arresting – occupiers at noon for having camping material in an attempt to shut down our movement. Occupy DC will peacefully resist this politically motivated attempt to suppress the free speech of the disenfranchised 99%.

The 1%, led by Darrell Issa, the wealthiest member of Congress, has launched an attack upon the free speech of those of us who disagree with the direction in which our country is going but cannot afford to give unlimited contributions to Super PACs or have lobbyists write legislation for us. In occupying public spaces we act as an ongoing challenge to the K Street lobbyists and elected officials undermining our democracy through the corrosive influence of money in politics.

We give shelter and voice to those who have had none. Attempted foreclosure upon our home will not solve homelessness or improve our health and safety. Nor will it quiet us.

At a time in American history when corporations are deemed to be people and money is considered free speech, structures sustaining people who are working to improve our democracy should be equally protected by society. Occupy DC is a voice for the 99%, whose voices have been kept out of the back rooms and muzzled in our economic and political conversations.

It’s no accident that the 1% earned 60 percent of all new income in the last three decades. The system is rigged against us, the 99%, and it will take more than voting to fix. On Monday we will defend free speech and our vision of a just society from attempted repression by the 1% – by any peaceful means necessary.

-----

We will be providing updates to the press, and participants will be available for interviews throughout the day. People will be livetweeting with the #defend99 and #J30 hashtags. Livestream URLs will be published on those tweets. Occupy DC Media can be reached at 202-540-0155.

==

Looks like my usual lunch time constitutional may be very entertaining tomorrow. Frankly, I'm surprised. I didn't think Barry and His Corrupt Gang of Progressives were willing to stay true to their constitutional oath to enforce the laws. We shall see ...

Could be a double reverse back flip to give up the mud pit without giving up the "cause." RebelPundit has insight into the next big move.

d(^_^)b
http://libertyatstake.blogspot.com/
"Because the Only Good Progressive is a Failed Progressive"

==

Update 1/30/12

Driving past Camp Stinky, McPherson Square this morning, I noticed two things in particular. A few more derelicts than usual, and a lot more media than usual. So it appears there will be kabuki and farce at Camp Stinky to bemuse the civil society.

And let us not forget Team Leftie still has Camp Stinky, Freedom Plaza - which already enjoys the cover of a permit extorted from the Park Service months ago. It is also a strategically superior assembly point for Team Leftie - the foundation is raised concrete (with drainage pipes embedded) instead of mud. I'm firming up a theory this is a just a tactical withdrawal.

Update #2 1/30/12

Home from work and now in my jammies (no feet). The occupiers of Camp Stinky did not disappoint. These geniuses, for the first time as far as I know, draped the statue of General McPherson in spray paint adorned tarpelin. I guess he thought it was an improvement protecting him from the usual pigeon sh*t. But the General's relief was brief. The occupiers calculations were faulty and the general's hat, as well as his steed's ears, poked through their free speech.



So far, though, Barry's Park Police have not enforced the sleeping ban on Barry's Bolshevik Brigade. Maybe they are waiting until ... you know, when the occupiers ... go to sleep.

Update 1/31/2012

Bob Schieffer Blog Roll stalwarts Pundit and Pundette have a morning update on the epic standoff. The local news here in DC reports the McPherson Square mob plans to stay up all night every night indefinitely. Pure genius. Well, at least the sleep deprivation should increase the day time entertainment value for commuters.

Update #2 1/31/2012

This thing is beginning to look like a showdown between Barney Fife and Ernest T. Bass.

During my noon time constitutional I initially found the Tent of Dreams in the previous day's state. On cue, there was a thunderous riiiiiip! sound, as the tent was further torn by the wind. I was Johnny-on-the-spot requesting a 'mic check' to ask if anyone had any duct tape. I was largely ignored, proving occupiers fail to respect free speech, in addition to being racist and misogynistic.

By 2 pm or so, the Tent of Dreams had fallen down to General McPherson's waist. The occupiers missed an opportunity to recover the situation by renaming it the Skirt of Dreams. I then observed the occupiers' Tent of Dreams Committee deciding what to do. One proposal was to to make an offer to the Park Police to take it down in return for the 'right to sleep' in the park. With negotiation skills like this, it's a wonder they have failed to grow their enterprise into every park in DC with a civil war statue. (hint: there are a lot of those)

At 4 pm or so I observed the Tent of Dreams down around the horse's ankles and the police rushing to the scene en masse. (It was actually half a dozen park police strolling from their usual position on the edges toward the center).

It is now 7 pm here in my capitalist bastion wired to the Intertubes and I think I now know why.

Here's the bottom line, kiddies. Barry is executing the Saul Alinsky / Bill Ayers playbook - fomenting chaos to exploit for tyrannical purposes - but the result is looking more and more like vaudeville slapstick. Because We The People have better things to do - like make a living and take care of our families.
Share the genius :

Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Only Thing Dumber Than the Average Person is a Crowd

I made that up tonight - as far as I'm concerned.  Upon which my 13 year old son claimed it is already a well known and popular quote.  My 13 year old son!  I have exercised extreme restraint by not 'Googling' (God, I hate that word as a verb!) it, before posting this for all time.  I'm half inclined to *NEVER* 'Google' (God, I hate that word as a verb!) it, as a matter of fact, because, it's mine, I tell you, mine!

I win!















Take THAT, whipper snapper!
Share the genius :

Friday, January 27, 2012

My First Demotivational Poster


















Created here.
Share the genius :

Thursday, January 26, 2012

OccupyDC Fears LAS


Hey, all I was gonna say was I couldn't make it because I had a previous engagement with the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (VRWC) monthly meeting at the Masonic Memorial.

Or, maybe I should have told them to take me off the email distribution, too - because that's the only reason I stumbled into this silliness.

OccupyDC is now added to the list with Huffington Post and National Public Radio as official censors of the phenomenon known as LibertyAtStake. The case demonstrating the Left tolerates no dissent grows.

If you are reading this, why not follow the link and give OccupyDC a little dissent to digest?

d(^_^)b
http://libertyatstake.blogspot.com/
“Because the Only Good Progressive is a Failed Progressive”
Share the genius :

SOTU 2012: Boilerplate From the Empty Suit

The decision making challenge for this amateur, part-time, blogger was whether or not to even waste invest any time at all in covering Barry’s State of the Union address. The Empty Suit Known as Barack Hussein Obama violated the first rule of Demagoguery 101 – he was, frankly, boring and predictable. He predictably showed up in the guise of campaigner-in-chief and proceeded to give us a boring laundry list of the usual Leftist campaign bromides.

The Big Lizards blog took the minimalist’s approach toward documenting this embarrassing performance.  LAS appreciates that approach from long experience.

For those of you possessing a taste for big words and long sentences – The Heritage Foundation’s Morning Bell was all you needed. (It was my first contact, having wisely skipped the real time telecast.)

Even the hapless establishment GOP got it, and then documented it using the visual arts.

==

The Donkey Party’s titular head perfectly represents his party’s Leftist heart and soul. The One Trick Pony Donkey has but one solution to every problem: tax and spend. In campaign mode the One Trick Pony Donkey has but one tactic: demonize those to be taxed, and stoke the envy of those to be designated recipients of the gub’ment spending.

Of course, it never works out as the dollar-for-dollar redistribution for utopian purposes these Lefties intend. On the tax side, the incentives created by the punitive taxes produce fewer revenues because taxpayers adjust their behavior to avoid the punishment. On the gub’ment constituent delivery side, gub’ment operations siphon off a percentage, and gub’ment inefficiencies cause a percentage to simply disappear. Call it the 'Deficit Engine.'

==

A fun way to document my point regarding the by now predictable and boring One Trick Pony Donkey occurred to me early today whilst enduring a predictable and boring meeting attached to the job I am thankful to possess in today’s sluggish economy.

The four legs of the One Trick Pony Donkey can represented graphically ...





Tax.






Spend.









Demonize.











Envy.









And then there is the always in play with the Leftist demagogue {*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*}

==

These fun little graphics can be easily liberally copy and pasted sprinkled throughout the transcript provided by USATODAY to make the point ...

==

{*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*}Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought - and several thousand gave their lives.

We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda's top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban's momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.

These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness, and teamwork of America's Armed Forces. At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They're not consumed with personal ambition. They don't obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we're in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren't so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.

We can do this. I know we can, because we've done it before. At the end of World War II, when another generation of heroes returned home from combat, they built the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known. My grandfather, a veteran of Patton's Army, got the chance to go to college on the GI Bill. My grandmother, who worked on a bomber assembly line, was part of a workforce that turned out the best products on Earth.

The two of them shared the optimism of a Nation that had triumphed over a depression and fascism. They understood they were part of something larger; that they were contributing to a story of success that every American had a chance to share - the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.

The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What's at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them.



Let's remember how we got here. Long before the recession, jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores. Technology made businesses more efficient, but also made some jobs obsolete. Folks at the top saw their incomes rise like never before, but most hardworking Americans struggled with costs that were growing, paychecks that weren't, and personal debt that kept piling up.

In 2008, the house of cards collapsed. We learned that mortgages had been sold to people who couldn't afford or understand them. Banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people's money. Regulators had looked the other way, or didn't have the authority to stop the bad behavior.

It was wrong. It was irresponsible. And it plunged our economy into a crisis that put millions out of work, saddled us with more debt, and left innocent, hard-working Americans holding the bag. In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly four million jobs. And we lost another four million before our policies were in full effect.


Those are the facts. But so are these. In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we've agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. And we've put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like that never happens again.

{*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*}The state of our Union is getting stronger. And we've come too far to turn back now. As long as I'm President, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum. But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.

No, we will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits. Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last - an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.

This blueprint begins with American manufacturing.

{*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*}On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world's number one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories. And together, the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs. {We already had Chapter 11.  Didn't need the bailouts, Barry}

We bet on American workers. We bet on American ingenuity. And tonight, the American auto industry is back.

What's happening in Detroit can happen in other industries. It can happen in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Raleigh. We can't bring back every job that's left our shores. But right now, it's getting more expensive to do business in places like China. Meanwhile, America is more productive. A few weeks ago, the CEO of Master Lock told me that it now makes business sense for him to bring jobs back home. Today, for the first time in fifteen years, Master Lock's unionized plant in Milwaukee is running at full capacity.

So we have a huge opportunity, at this moment, to bring manufacturing back. But we have to seize it. Tonight, my message to business leaders is simple: Ask yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed.


and



We should start with our tax code. Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and everyone knows it.

So let's change it. First, if you're a business that wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn't get a tax deduction for doing it. That money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies like Master Lock that decide to bring jobs home.

Second, no American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas. From now on, every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax. And every penny should go towards lowering taxes for companies that choose to stay here and hire here.

Third, if you're an American manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut. If you're a high-tech manufacturer, we should double the tax deduction you get for making products here. And if you want to relocate in a community that was hit hard when a factory left town, you should get help financing a new plant, equipment, or training for new workers.

My message is simple. It's time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America. Send me these tax reforms, and I'll sign them right away.

{*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*}We're also making it easier for American businesses to sell products all over the world. Two years ago, I set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over five years. With the bipartisan trade agreements I signed into law, we are on track to meet that goal - ahead of schedule. Soon, there will be millions of new customers for American goods in Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Soon, there will be new cars on the streets of Seoul imported from Detroit, and Toledo, and Chicago.

I will go anywhere in the world to open new markets for American products. And I will not stand by when our competitors don't play by the rules. We've brought trade cases against China at nearly twice the rate as the last administration - and it's made a difference. Over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires. But we need to do more. It's not right when another country lets our movies, music, and software be pirated. It's not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they're heavily subsidized.


Tonight, I'm announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trade practices in countries like China. There will be more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders. And this Congress should make sure that no foreign company has an advantage over American manufacturing when it comes to accessing finance or new markets like Russia. Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you - America will always win.

I also hear from many business leaders who want to hire in the United States but can't find workers with the right skills. Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job. Think about that - openings at a time when millions of Americans are looking for work.  {No, actually, if you made LEGAL immigration more efficient, more than enough 'ferriners' have the necessary skills.  Skills anybody can acquire from the closest technical training institute.}

That's inexcusable. And we know how to fix it.

{*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*}Jackie Bray is a single mom from North Carolina who was laid off from her job as a mechanic. Then Siemens opened a gas turbine factory in Charlotte, and formed a partnership with Central Piedmont Community College. The company helped the college design courses in laser and robotics training. It paid Jackie's tuition, then hired her to help operate their plant.


I want every American looking for work to have the same opportunity as Jackie did. Join me in a national commitment to train two million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job. My Administration has already lined up more companies that want to help. Model partnerships between businesses like Siemens and community colleges in places like Charlotte, Orlando, and Louisville are up and running. Now you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers - places that teach people skills that local businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing.

And I want to cut through the maze of confusing training programs, so that from now on, people like Jackie have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help they need. It's time to turn our unemployment system into a reemployment system that puts people to work.

These reforms will help people get jobs that are open today. But to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earlier.

{HUH? WTF?}For less than one percent of what our Nation spends on education each year, we've convinced nearly every State in the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning - the first time that's happened in a generation.

But challenges remain. And we know how to solve them.

At a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets have forced States to lay off thousands of teachers. We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies  {LAS' wife has done this.  Just because.} - just to make a difference.

Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let's offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. In return, grant schools flexibility: To teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren't helping kids learn.

We also know that when students aren't allowed to walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. So tonight, I call on every State to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen.

When kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July. Extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves middle-class families thousands of dollars. And give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years.

Of course, it's not enough for us to increase student aid. We can't just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we'll run out of money. States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down. Recently, I spoke with a group of college presidents who've done just that. Some schools re-design courses to help students finish more quickly. Some use better technology. The point is, it's possible. So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can't be a luxury - it's an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.

Let's also remember that hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge: The fact that they aren't yet American citizens. Many were brought here as small children, are American through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others came more recently, to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else.

That doesn't make sense. {So, apply for an effin' green card for chrissake.}

{*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*} I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That's why my Administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. {HUH? WTF?}That's why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office.

The opponents of action are out of excuses. We should be working on comprehensive {"comprehensive" = Barry codespeak for "amnesty"} immigration reform right now. {DREAM ACT sop} But if election-year politics keeps Congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let's at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, and defend this country. Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away.

{Begin: empty bullshit} You see, an economy built to last is one where we encourage the talent and ingenuity of every person in this country. That means women should earn equal pay for equal work. It means we should support everyone who's willing to work; and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.

After all, innovation is what America has always been about. Most new jobs are created in start-ups and small businesses. So let's pass an agenda that helps them succeed. Tear down regulations that prevent aspiring entrepreneurs from getting the financing to grow. Expand tax relief to small businesses that are raising wages and creating good jobs. Both parties agree on these ideas. So put them in a bill, and get it on my desk this year.

Innovation also demands basic research. Today, the discoveries taking place in our federally-financed labs and universities could lead to new treatments that kill cancer cells but leave healthy ones untouched. New lightweight vests for cops and soldiers that can stop any bullet. Don't gut these investments in our budget. Don't let other countries win the race for the future. Support the same kind of research and innovation that led to the computer chip and the Internet; to new American jobs and new American industries. {momentary end: empty bullshit}

{*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*} Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy. Over the last three years, we've opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration, and tonight, I'm directing my Administration to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources. Right now, American oil production is the highest that it's been in eight years. That's right - eight years. Not only that - last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past sixteen years.

But with only 2 percent of the world's oil reserves, oil isn't enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy {Keystone?} - a strategy that's cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs. -

We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly one hundred years {no shit, sherlock!}, and my Administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. And I'm requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use {greenie sop and counter-productive to the stated goal.}. America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.

The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don't have to choose between our environment and our economy. And by the way, it was public research dollars, over the course of thirty years, that helped develop the technologies to extract all this natural gas out of shale rock - reminding us that Government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground.

What's true for natural gas is true for clean energy. In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world's leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries. Because of federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled. And thousands of Americans have jobs because of it.

When Bryan Ritterby was laid off from his job making furniture, he said he worried that at 55, no one would give him a second chance. But he found work at Energetx, a wind turbine manufacturer in Michigan. Before the recession, the factory only made luxury yachts. Today, it's hiring workers like Bryan, who said, "I'm proud to be working in the industry of the future."

Our experience with shale gas shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don't always come right away. Some technologies don't pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan. I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here. We have subsidized oil companies for a century. That's long enough. It's time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that's rarely been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that's never been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits and create these jobs.

We can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. {uhhh ... maybe because the "science" is an effin' hoax?} But there's no reason why Congress shouldn't at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven't acted. Well tonight, I will. I'm directing my Administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power three million homes. And I'm proud to announce that the Department of Defense, the world's largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history - with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year.

Of course, the easiest way to save money is to waste less energy. So here's another proposal: Help manufacturers eliminate energy waste in their factories and give businesses incentives to upgrade their buildings. Their energy bills will be $100 billion lower over the next decade, and America will have less pollution, more manufacturing, and more jobs for construction workers who need them. Send me a bill that creates these jobs.

Building this new energy future should be just one part of a broader agenda to repair America's infrastructure. So much of America needs to be rebuilt. We've got crumbling roads and bridges. A power grid that wastes too much energy. An incomplete high-speed broadband network that prevents a small business owner in rural America from selling her products all over the world.

During the Great Depression, America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. After World War II, we connected our States with a system of highways. Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today.

and
{duplicate intentional}
In the next few weeks, I will sign an Executive Order clearing away the red tape that slows down too many construction projects. But you need to fund these projects. Take the money we're no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home. {can you just finish the G-D Beltway, please?}


{triplicate intentional!}
There's never been a better time to build, especially since the construction industry was one of the hardest-hit when the housing bubble burst. Of course, construction workers weren't the only ones hurt. So were millions of innocent Americans who've seen their home values decline. And while Government can't fix the problem on its own, responsible homeowners shouldn't have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief.

That's why I'm sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low interest rates. {already did it} No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks. A small fee on the largest financial institutions will ensure that it won't add to the deficit, and will give banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust.

Let's never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a Government and a financial system that do the same. It's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts {welcome aboard, Barry}, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody.

We've all paid the price for lenders who sold mortgages to people who couldn't afford them, and buyers who knew they couldn't afford them. That's why we need smart regulations to prevent irresponsible behavior. Rules to prevent financial fraud, or toxic dumping, or faulty medical devices, don't destroy the free market. They make the free market work better.


There is no question that some regulations are outdated, unnecessary, or too costly. {welcome aboard, Barry} {*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*} In fact, I've approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his. I've ordered every federal agency to eliminate rules that don't make sense. We've already announced over 500 reforms, and just a fraction of them will save business and citizens more than $10 billion over the next five years. We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill - because milk was somehow classified as an oil. With a rule like that, I guess it was worth crying over spilled milk.

I'm confident a farmer can contain a milk spill without a federal agency looking over his shoulder. But I will not back down from making sure an oil company can contain the kind of oil spill we saw in the Gulf two years ago. I will not back down from protecting our kids from mercury pollution {like from a broken CFL?} , or making sure that our food is safe and our water is clean. {*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*}
I will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny you coverage, or charge women differently from men.

And I will not go back to the days when Wall Street was allowed to play by its own set of rules. The new rules we passed restore what should be any financial system's core purpose: Getting funding to entrepreneurs with the best ideas, and getting loans to responsible families who want to buy a home, start a business, or send a kid to college.

So if you're a big bank or financial institution, you are no longer allowed to make risky bets with your customers' deposits. You're required to write out a "living will" that details exactly how you'll pay the bills if you fail - because the rest of us aren't bailing you out ever again. And if you're a mortgage lender or a payday lender or a credit card company, the days of signing people up for products they can't afford with confusing forms and deceptive practices are over. Today, American consumers finally have a watchdog in Richard Cordray with one job: To look out for them.

We will also establish a Financial Crimes Unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people's investments. Some financial firms violate major anti-fraud laws because there's no real penalty for being a repeat offender. That's bad for consumers, and it's bad for the vast majority of bankers and financial service professionals who do the right thing. So pass legislation that makes the penalties for fraud count.

And tonight, I am asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.

A return to the American values of fair play and shared responsibility will help us protect our people and our economy. But it should also guide us as we look to pay down our debt and invest in our future.


{*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*} Right now, our most immediate priority is stopping a tax hike on 160 million working Americans while the recovery is still fragile. People cannot afford losing $40 out of each paycheck this year. There are plenty of ways to get this done. So let's agree right here, right now: No side issues. No drama. Pass the payroll tax cut without delay. {What made you think a two month extension made sense in the first place, Barry?}

When it comes to the deficit, we've already agreed to more than $2 trillion in cuts and savings. {Yeah, over TEN EFFIN' YEARS!} But we need to do more, and that means making choices. Right now, we're poised to spend nearly $1 trillion more on what was supposed to be a temporary tax break for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Right now, because of loopholes and shelters in the tax code, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle-class households. Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else - like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans? Because if we're serious about paying down our debt, we can't do both.

{*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*}The American people know what the right choice is. So do I. As I told the Speaker this summer, I'm prepared to make more reforms that rein in the long term costs of Medicare and Medicaid, and strengthen Social Security, so long as those programs remain a guarantee of security for seniors.


But in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of Members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes. And my Republican friend Tom Coburn {Coburn really needs to renounce this "friendship" or turn in his Con-Card} is right: Washington should stop subsidizing millionaires. In fact, if you're earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn't get special tax subsidies or deductions. On the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families, your taxes shouldn't go up. You're the ones struggling with rising costs and stagnant wages. You're the ones who need relief.

Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. {Ummmm ... Duh.} But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense. {flatten rates, broaden the base, simplify the code}

We don't begrudge financial success in this country. We admire it. When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it's not because they envy the rich. It's because they understand that when I get tax breaks I don't need and the country can't afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference - like a senior on a fixed income; or a student trying to get through school; or a family trying to make ends meet. That's not right. Americans know it's not right. They know that this generation's success is only possible because past generations felt a responsibility to each other, and to their country's future, and they know our way of life will only endure if we feel that same sense of shared responsibility. That's how we'll reduce our deficit. That's an America built to last. {I repeat: flatten rates, broaden the base, simplify the code}



I recognize that people watching tonight have differing views about taxes and debt; energy and health care. But no matter what party they belong to, I bet most Americans are thinking the same thing right now: Nothing will get done this year, or next year, or maybe even the year after that, because Washington is broken.

Can you blame them for feeling a little cynical?

The greatest blow to confidence in our economy last year didn't come from events beyond our control. It came from a debate in Washington over whether the United States would pay its bills or not. Who benefited from that fiasco? {You did, Community-Agitator-In-Chief}

I've talked tonight about the deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street. But the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad - and it seems to get worse every year.

{*Pander and/or Lie Alert!*} Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics. So together, let's take some steps to fix that. Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow. Let's limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact. {Like Solyndra, Barry?} Let's make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can't lobby Congress, and vice versa - an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of Washington.

{You know what, this is why I couldn't stomach watching this jackass live in the first place ... good damned night!}

Some of what's broken has to do with the way Congress does its business these days. A simple majority is no longer enough to get anything - even routine business - passed through the Senate. Neither party has been blameless in these tactics. Now both parties should put an end to it. For starters, I ask the Senate to pass a rule that all judicial and public service nominations receive a simple up or down vote within 90 days.

The executive branch also needs to change. Too often, it's inefficient, outdated and remote. That's why I've asked this Congress to grant me the authority to consolidate the federal bureaucracy so that our Government is leaner, quicker, and more responsive to the needs of the American people.

Finally, none of these reforms can happen unless we also lower the temperature in this town. We need to end the notion that the two parties must be locked in a perpetual campaign of mutual destruction; that politics is about clinging to rigid ideologies instead of building consensus around common sense ideas.

I'm a Democrat. But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: That Government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more. That's why my education reform offers more competition, and more control for schools and States. That's why we're getting rid of regulations that don't work. That's why our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a Government program.

On the other hand, even my Republican friends who complain the most about Government spending have supported federally-financed roads, and clean energy projects, and federal offices for the folks back home.

The point is, we should all want a smarter, more effective Government. And while we may not be able to bridge our biggest philosophical differences this year, we can make real progress. With or without this Congress, I will keep taking actions that help the economy grow. But I can do a whole lot more with your help. Because when we act together, there is nothing the United States of America can't achieve.

That is the lesson we've learned from our actions abroad over the last few years.

Ending the Iraq war has allowed us to strike decisive blows against our enemies. From Pakistan to Yemen, the al Qaeda operatives who remain are scrambling, knowing that they can't escape the reach of the United States of America.

From this position of strength, we've begun to wind down the war in Afghanistan. Ten thousand of our troops have come home. Twenty-three thousand more will leave by the end of this summer. This transition to Afghan lead will continue, and we will build an enduring partnership with Afghanistan, so that it is never again a source of attacks against America.

As the tide of war recedes, a wave of change has washed across the Middle East and North Africa, from Tunis to Cairo; from Sana'a to Tripoli. A year ago, Qadhafi was one of the world's longest-serving dictators - a murderer with American blood on his hands. Today, he is gone. And in Syria, I have no doubt that the Assad regime will soon discover that the forces of change can't be reversed, and that human dignity can't be denied.

How this incredible transformation will end remains uncertain. But we have a huge stake in the outcome. And while it is ultimately up to the people of the region to decide their fate, we will advocate for those values that have served our own country so well. We will stand against violence and intimidation. We will stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings - men and women; Christians, Muslims, and Jews. We will support policies that lead to strong and stable democracies and open markets, because tyranny is no match for liberty.

And we will safeguard America's own security against those who threaten our citizens, our friends, and our interests. Look at Iran. Through the power of our diplomacy, a world that was once divided about how to deal with Iran's nuclear program now stands as one. The regime is more isolated than ever before; its leaders are faced with crippling sanctions, and as long as they shirk their responsibilities, this pressure will not relent. Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal. But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations.

The renewal of American leadership can be felt across the globe. Our oldest alliances in Europe and Asia are stronger than ever. Our ties to the Americas are deeper. Our iron-clad commitment to Israel's security has meant the closest military cooperation between our two countries in history. We've made it clear that America is a Pacific power, and a new beginning in Burma has lit a new hope. From the coalitions we've built to secure nuclear materials, to the missions we've led against hunger and disease; from the blows we've dealt to our enemies; to the enduring power of our moral example, America is back.

Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn't know what they're talking about. That's not the message we get from leaders around the world, all of whom are eager to work with us. That's not how people feel from Tokyo to Berlin; from Cape Town to Rio; where opinions of America are higher than they've been in years. Yes, the world is changing; no, we can't control every event. But America remains the one indispensable nation in world affairs - and as long as I'm President, I intend to keep it that way.

That's why, working with our military leaders, I have proposed a new defense strategy that ensures we maintain the finest military in the world, while saving nearly half a trillion dollars in our budget. To stay one step ahead of our adversaries, I have already sent this Congress legislation that will secure our country from the growing danger of cyber-threats.

Above all, our freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform who defend it. As they come home, we must serve them as well as they served us. That includes giving them the care and benefits they have earned - which is why we've increased annual VA spending every year I've been President. And it means enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our Nation.

With the bipartisan support of this Congress, we are providing new tax credits to companies that hire vets. Michelle and Jill Biden have worked with American businesses to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans and their families. And tonight, I'm proposing a Veterans Job Corps that will help our communities hire veterans as cops and firefighters, so that America is as strong as those who defend her.

Which brings me back to where I began. Those of us who've been sent here to serve can learn from the service of our troops. When you put on that uniform, it doesn't matter if you're black or white; Asian or Latino; conservative or liberal; rich or poor; gay or straight. When you're marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you're in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one Nation, leaving no one behind.

One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with them on the mission to get bin Laden. On it are each of their names. Some may be Democrats. Some may be Republicans. But that doesn't matter. Just like it didn't matter that day in the Situation Room, when I sat next to Bob Gates - a man who was George Bush's defense secretary; and Hillary Clinton, a woman who ran against me for president.

All that mattered that day was the mission. No one thought about politics. No one thought about themselves. One of the young men involved in the raid later told me that he didn't deserve credit for the mission. It only succeeded, he said, because every single member of that unit did their job - the pilot who landed the helicopter that spun out of control; the translator who kept others from entering the compound; the troops who separated the women and children from the fight; the SEALs who charged up the stairs. More than that, the mission only succeeded because every member of that unit trusted each other - because you can't charge up those stairs, into darkness and danger, unless you know that there's someone behind you, watching your back.

So it is with America. Each time I look at that flag, I'm reminded that our destiny is stitched together like those fifty stars and those thirteen stripes. No one built this country on their own. This Nation is great because we built it together. This Nation is great because we worked as a team. This Nation is great because we get each other's backs. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we're joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, our future is hopeful, and the state of our Union will always be strong.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

==

Let the campaign begin.

==

Update 1/26/12

A new day brings a fresh outlook. Readers can have fun pasting in the monopoly man warning labels below the line where I lost my patience. The comments section brings evidence the One Trick Pony Donkey hit a home run with his hopey-changey Looney Left base. The politics of envy coming to a location near you soon.
Share the genius :

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Senator and the Transportation Sandusky Administration (TSA) Flap

(To 'sandusky' is a verb now in use by the gang of unsocialized miscreants my 7th grader runs with. The things kids will come up with.)

So, anyway, this blogger invited the blogosphere to engage in thoughtful discussion regarding the strange case of the jackbooted airport brownshirts (the blue shirts are a clever disquise) detaining the duly elected Senator from Kentucky.

I was voluntarily unable to participate on this particular blogger's comment thread, because this particular blogger uses WordPress as her commenting system and I long ago wrote off that configuration as a huge pain in the arse to be avoided. According to my early experience with this whole blogging thing, WordPress apparently requires a distinct password for each and every WordPress serviced site, and that's simply too hard for this simple mind to keep up with.

Now, don't get me wrong - I often enjoy this particular blogger's writings (rantings), that's why she retains her highly sought after place on the Bob Schieffer Blog Roll.  I am simply prohibited by individual choice from interacting directly on this particular blogger's site due to this particular blogger's poor (in my view) choice of commenting systems.

==

So, I guess I'll just have to start the sorely needed erudite discussion thread here on my site.

First of all, we have reached a truly dark age for the constitution when low level bureaucrats equipped with intentionally faulty machines feel empowered to detain and harass a United States Senator. Read the last sentence, first paragraph, Article I, section 6; then get back to me kiddies. You, Ezra Klein, can hire a translator if you want, because it was written a really long time ago, or something.

Number two - the TSA, in its present configuration, was never necessary. Setting aside the debate over private vs. government agency staffing - trampling on the Fourth Amendment rights of each and every traveler to protect all from the criminal intent of a few easily profiled (there's that word! eek!) criminals has always been a ridiculous farce at best.

Number three - there is still time to eliminate the TSA and implement an Israeli style profiling and interviewing system. It's been working for them for decades. The only reason it hasn't been given a chance to work for us is the scourge of Political Correctness inflicted upon the republic by our political Left.

Profiling is not racism. Profiling is smart police work. Period. End of sentence.
Share the genius :

Monday, January 23, 2012

Newton's Three Laws (Part 24)

I was determined to retire this series title - really - on the grounds it was looking as old as Joe Namath in his Los Angeles Rams uniform. However, sometimes events conspire to overtake the best intentions of the humble blog author.

The GOP Establishment is positively losing its' collective mind over Newt Gingrich's South Carolina primary win.  Losing its' mind!

This is good for the republic and an absolutely perfect fit for the Newtonian F=M*A theme that has been a big part of this blog.

==

Who exactly is this "GOP Establishment?" I, LibertyAtStake, shall now provide the most succinctly transparent definition available on the Intertubes of this suddenly common term. The "GOP Establishment" is (most, not all) of the collection of people who make their compensated livings working for team (R) in our two party system. It's the career politicians, career staffers, paid pundits, paid pollsters, and all the other paid media hacks who live inside the two party bubble 24 x 7. They have a losing record. Most recently they got wiped out by a Saul Alinsky Communist with no record of achievement beyond the capacity to read a teleprompter and repeat the empty chant "Yes We Can" in at least two languages. Basically, they lost to Ron Burgundy in Al Jolson "black face."

The Establishment GOP also possesses a very personal interest in maintaining the status quo, or something close to it, as the junior partners in your ruling cabal. Their immediate ability to pay their mortgages and pay their kids' tuition bills, and all the other bills, depends upon it. They lined up in lockstep up to six years ago behind the Massachusetts moderate named Mitt Romney - or Mittens, or Sir Mitt of RINO, on this blog.

LAS is here to inform you that's what explains many observations from today's news and opinion feeds. Herewith is a small sampling.

Wall Street Journal Opinionator becomes so unhinged as to draw a false equivalence between Newt and a well-known Cuban mass murderer.

Well known pseudo-conservative David Frum makes the case you should reject Newt because his (Frum's) "Establishment," losers to the Empty Suit in 2008, are frightened by the Newtser. (You can bet they are!)

The Old Grey Lady - and I do mean OLD AND GREY - editorial board takes a stab at dismissing the obviously uncomfortable reality (for them).

==

You, dear reader, are not buying it, though.  (And good for you!)  The latest measurement taken by the republic's most reliable pollster at this moment - Scott Rasmussen - informs us of a huge tidal wave of support surging in the hurricane prone state of Florida.  (btw - I love Reaganite Republican's "Revenge of the Nerds" gestalt on this link.  It reminds me of the time me and my high school friends donned broken glasses, short sleeve shirts, and pocket protectors to view the original's theatre opening in our particular backwater.  But I digress.)

==

This is the bottom line, patriots.  Newt Gingrich, as Speaker of the House, balanced the federal budget *and* showed sufficient conviction to shutdown the federal gub'ment in the political fight to get there . Ask Denny Hastert, Blinky Pelosi, or John Boehner if they can lay claim to these accolades. Newt Gingrich has arisen as the "outsider's insider" at this crucial time in history.  Embrace it.  It is what it is.

This confluence has given LAS the opportunity to use the following album cover graphic; which I obtained as a registered user of the best Internet Idea Ever - Pandora Radio.  I had never heard of the band "Elf Power," or their album "Creatures" (under this cover), or the song on this album titled "Let the Serpent Sleep" - but I was instantly entranced by the song when Pandora's algorithms brought the song forward based on my recorded preferences.  The very same Intertubes that made this possible makes the Establishment's resistance to Newt's rise futile.  This graphic captures the gestalt of the grass roots TEA Party fueled Conservative Ascendancy that will record one hell of a Newtonian impact come November 2012.



Don't cede one single inch of the ring to the Establishment, patriots.  They don't deserve it.  They lost to a Saul Alinsky trained Socialist.
Share the genius :

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Jack Wiley Dithers Exclusive: OccupyDC Instant Messages Intercepted

(AP) - Jack Wiley Dithers Reporting.

My cracker-jack investigative journalism team has uncovered direct ties between the OccupyDC camp at McPherson Square and the White House. This connection is firmly established by our archive of intercepted Instant Message (IM) packets, all sent and received from the same Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop. This laptop has been using the open, public, wi-fi connection provided by a Starbucks two blocks north of McPherson Square ever since the occupiers arrived in town. The IM exchanges are between an account inside the Starbucks using the handle @FreeAbbieHoffman, and a co-conspirator using the handle @OFA. Our elite IT staff has analyzed the IP addresses in these packets, have done their geo-location computations, and have established with 99.98% certainty the @OFA packets originate from inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.

The promising young intern I hired last year for her unique qualifications has connected the Starbucks laptop to a hobo.   This hobo somehow manages to walk around all day with very expensive digital devices and film equipment, and also somehow affords the freight to sleep every evening in the Residence Inn directly across from the targeted Starbucks network. We have observed him expertly agitating the mob most evenings during so-called General Assembly (GA). This is our best surveillance photo to date.

























I think you'll find the IM exchanges quite eye-popping. I know I did as I observed the perky intern doing her desk work to assemble them into this report.

==

10/1/2011 3:30 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Checked in with Residence Inn. Awaiting instructions.
10/1/2011 3:33 pm
@OFA: Plouffe taking nap. Check back tomorrow.


10/3/2011 4:00 pm
@OFA: Introduce yourself to the mob at GA tonight. You will be an unemployed auto worker who lost his job due to Governor Scott Walker's illegal union busting activities. Begin gaining the mob's trust as an expert in Marxist economics. Talk to the mob a lot about how Teddy Roosevelt was a progressive. Plouffe is working up a speech for the One channeling TR.

10/6/2011 11:12 am
@FreeAbbieHoffman: 3 new CPUSA registrations since last night. Reading up on the Rough Riders and Spanish-American War to learn about TR.
10/6/2011 11:32 am
@OFA: Nice start on the registration drive. Re: TR, read something about his policy disagreements with Taft instead.

10/7/2011 1:42 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: 8 more CPUSA registrations. Total now 11. Met promising young activist from West Virginia. He's been a very effective voice at GA.
10/7/2011 1:53 pm
@OFA: Excellent. Plouffe is cooking up something big for tomorrow. Stay sober.

10/8/2011 10:44 am
@OFA: The mob will ransack the NASA museum today. Capture everything on film.
10/8/2011 11:08 am
@FreeAbbieHoffman: WV guy riling mob with chant - Space Travel For the 99% Now! Told you he had promise.
10/8/2011 2:28 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Mob on the march.
10/8/2011 3:03 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Museum doors breeched!
10/8/2011 3:14 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Pepper spray! Kent State moment!
10/8/2011 3:26 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Mob retreating back to base camp.
10/8/2011 8:57 pm
@OFA: What do you know about the American Spectator reporter?
10/8/2011 8:59 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Huh?
10/8/2011 9:01 pm
@OFA: Never mind. Get your Anonymous people on the case.
10/8/2011 9:49 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Anonymous on the case. Spectator post should be wiped by tomorrow.

10/20/2011 11:02 am
@OFA: Flash mob at Union station tonight - Walmart CEO at fund raiser.
10/20/2011 1:04 pm
@FreeAbbirHoffman: WV guy came up with another great chant. We're Here! We're Smart! We Fart on Walmart! Recommend for early promotion to Organizer.

10/29/2011 12:14 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Exciting news! Some black kids have joined camp!
10/29/2011 12:33 pm
@OFA: Jarrett sent them down from Howard U. Brush up on your black liberation theology for GA.

11/1/2011 2:02 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Some guy wearing dark glasses and smoking a cigar keeps coming into camp and talking to occupiers. Talks to WV guy a lot. The chants coming from WV guy much weaker lately. Withdraw promotion recommendation. Cigar guy has Lolita spooked 'cos he keeps asking about the welfare of her kids.
11/1/2011 2:04 pm
@OFA: Ignore him. Plouffe is on the case.

11/4/2011 11:11 am
@OFA: The mob terrorizes the AFP summit at Convention Center tonight.
11/4/2011 11:13 am
@FreeAbbieHoffman: There's cigar guy again. Who IS he?
11/4/2011 11:15 am
@OFA: Get a hold of yourself.

11/5/2011 1:13 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Cigar guy knows WV guy pushed that old woman down the stairs. How is that even possible? WV guy spooked - thinking about leaving camp.
11/5/2011 1:16 PM
@OFA: Forget cigar guy. WV guy no matter. Convince Lolita to go home and lay low for awhile. Wash Times posted video of her using her kids as a barricade. It's linked all over the Internet.

11/17/2011 10:43 am
@OFA: The mob blocks the key bridge at rush hour today.
11/17/2011 10:51 am
@FreeAbbieHoffman: R U sure? That might piss a lot of people off.
11/17/2011 10:56 am
@OFA: Just do it. Plouffe says so.

11/20/2011 11:34 am
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Cigar Guy walked right up to me and asked about the Franklin School arrests. U GOT TO DO SOMETHING!
11/20/2011 11:36 am
@OFA: Are you back on crystal meth?

11/22/2011 2:33 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: OWS marchers arrived. Send Kosher food.
11/22/2011 2:36 pm
@OFA: ACORN on it.

12/4/2011 3:38 pm
@OFA: Baltimore friend will deliver lumber tonight. Organize mob to build shed from delivery.
12/4/2011 6:48 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Lumber arrived from Baltimore friend.
12/4/2011 8:08 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Finished explaining to occupiers what a hammer does. Cops looking agitated.
12/4/2011 10:06 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Cops moving in! Kent State! Kent State! Kent State!
12/4/2011 10:16 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: WV guy resisting from shed roof. Pissing on cops. Reinstate promotion recommendation.
12/5/2011 9:08 am
@FreeAbbieHoffman: WTF happenend to the shed?
12/5/2011 9:09 am
@OFA: Never mind.

12/6/2011 10:04 am
@OFA: The One gives TR speech today.  How did TR brainwashing go with the mob.
12/6/2011 10:07 am
@FreeAbbieHoffman: T Who?

12/7/2011 10:43 am
@OFA: The mob blocks the K street at rush hour today.
12/7/2011 10:51 am
@FreeAbbieHoffman: R U sure? That might piss a lot of people off.
12/7/2011 10:56 am
@OFA: Just do it. Plouffe says so.

12/8/2011 11:16 am
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Cigar guy commenting on our site. DO SOMETHING!
12/8/2011 12:02 pm
@OFA: We have his real name and address. Organize a march on his house for this evening.
12/8/2011 2:04 pm
@FreeAbbieHoffman: March on cigar guy's house a no go. Too far to walk and nobody in camp has a valid drivers license.
12/8/2011 2:06 pm
@OFA: No matter - we decided to cancel because he has a blog.

1/16/2011 10:41 am
@FreeAbbieHoffman: Cigar guy in camp almost every day now. This is really pissing me off.
1/16/2011 10:42 am
@OFA: We told you he has a blog. Nothing can be done.

(AP) - Jack Wiley Dithers Reporting.
Share the genius :

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned

We have been informed that ABC News will air an interview with Newt Gingrich’s second wife this evening. She will be re-hashing old gossip from their divorce of 13 years ago.

This is interesting on several levels – not the least of which is the sound argument it makes for mandatory gag orders with all divorces.

A slightly more instructive angle is given to us by the corrupt and biased liberal MSM positively salivating all over itself at the possibility of sinking the candidacy of most articulate voice left in the GOP nomination race.

I have often heard the phrase “timing is everything,” and often lived its truth - almost always a day late and a dollar short. The timing of this MSM hatchet job is positively exquisite; what with Newt rising again in the polls.

Especially when you consider some of the things that have somehow escaped the attention of corrupt and biased MSM ... documentary evidence provided by L. Brent Bozell’s excellent organization known as the Media Research Center (MRC).

The MSM couldn’t figure out John Edwards’ mistress was flying on the same press plane with them.

MSM hacks lined up to be apologists for Eliot Spitzer’s whoring.

Not to mention William Jefferson Clinton’s record of serial sexual assaults.

==

But, LAS also understands the conservative coalition does have its standards, the double standards of the Left are not something to emulate, and those social conservatives over there at the other end of tent are staring at me suspiciously. So, for me, the most interesting angle on this one is the perpetual tug and pull inside the conservative coalition tent - between social conservatives with a gag reflex reaction to infidelity, and liberty conservatives now dedicated to the proposition of beating Barack Hussein Obama like a government mule in the general election of 2012. The liberty side of the tent doesn’t give a damn about 13 year old gossip.

Therefore, I’ve put together my own poll to get to the bottom of this latest MSM hatchet job on a Republican candidate. Only registered Republicans should vote. It’s the honor system, so all dead voters are assumed to be Democrat mischief makers.

==

After viewing the ABC News hatchet job on Newt Gingrich, please select the answer that best fits your reaction.


Update 1/22/12

It's a BLOWOUT in the Palmetto state! Nikki Haley still has time to admit she made a mistake endorsing Mittens and seek TEA Party forgiveness. Because we believe in redemption - Rick Perry said so. And now, the speech that made LAS go "woo-hoo!"


Share the genius :

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Recess? Don't Talk About Recess! You Kiddin' Me!

With Apologies to Jim Mora ...



==












The Community-Agitator-In-Chief has inflicted yet another constitutional crisis upon the republic with his recent “recess appointments.”

These appointments represent precisely what our Founders rebelled against – the unilateral dictatorial decree of a tyrant executive. The Founders split power between three branches of government to avoid the grand errors that always arise from concentrating too much power in too few hands. In the situation at hand, the constitution requires otherwise unaccountable bureaucrats to receive the consent of the Senate before being deputized as our masters and overseers.(1)

The Founders made provision for the so-called “recess appointment”(2) in an 18th Century world – intending it to cover the exceptional condition of the Executive branch needing to suddenly fill a position between sessions of Congress, when re-convening an adjourned Congress was dependent on the horse and buggy.

The recess appointment simply serves no purpose anymore in a world of travel governed by the internal combustion engine and jet air flight. At this point in history, the recess appointment no longer serves its’ originally intended purpose as a stop-gap measure mitigating the limitations of Congress to hold up its’ end of the appointment / confirmation bargain. The recess appointment is now nothing more than a procedural option the Executive possesses for subverting the originally intended separation of powers.

The political argument over these appointments makes my point. In practical terms, it is nothing but political theater. Every single one of today’s Senators could make the round trip home and back to DC in infinitely less time than the 18th century Senator from New Hampshire might have spent stuck in a Philadelphia snow storm just trying to get home. The Senate Majority leader can send a tweet instantly to have the Senate in session day after tomorrow. If Barry needs these positions filled so badly, he should just tell Dingy Harry Reid to get everybody back in town and get the confirmation process started.

For the same reasons, the argument over whether Congress is or is not really in recess based on the House’s refusal to accept the Senate’s adjournment(3) is more political theater than constitutional legal debate. It really doesn’t matter how many warm bodies are inside the Capitol. Speaker Boehner has the power and capacity to get every Representative back into the building day after tomorrow.

If Barry is truly the enlightened “progressive” constitutional scholar he claims to be, he should be arguing that we “progress” into modern times by amending the constitution to eliminate recess appointments altogether. But he won’t – because the only real value held by BHO and his corrupt gang of Progressives is the raw, naked exercise of power.

Just ask Anita Dunn’s favorite political philosopher, Mao Tse-Tung: “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”

Or ask Barry’s community agitator hero, Saul Alinsky: "The third rule of ethics of means and ends … the end justifies almost any means...." (p. 29 of “Rules For Radicals”)

Or ask Dingy Harry Reid why he used the identical tactic (not adjourning) to block Bush era recess appointments, yet rejects the same argument against Barry’s recess appointments today.

Footnotes
(1)Article II, Section 2 of the constitution.
(2)Article II, Section 2 of the constitution.
(3)Article I, Section 5 of the constitution.

Proposed constitutional amendment: "Article II, Section 2 shall be amended to remove the final paragraph 'The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.'"

Got that, Ezra Klein? It's really not that hard.

d(^_^)b
http://libertyatstake.blogspot.com/
"Because the Only Good Progressive is a Failed Progressive"


Update 1/18/12

A visit today to this site generated by a long ago forgotten url signed comment reminds LAS this is not the first time Barry has abused Article II, Section 2.
Share the genius :

Monday, January 16, 2012

Tagged!


Discovered last week inside my mailbox. So many questions ...

Really?

AYFKM?

Is there a dire national need to improve the efficiency of junk mail delivery?

Am I a criminal if I remove the sticker?

If I replace the crusty old mailbox with a shiny new one, will their system become confused? Will I be assessed a tax?

If they can afford the snazzy new data collection technology, why can't they print a leaflet answering my questions?

Does this mean I will never again have to walk my neighbor's mis-routed mail across the street? (Doubt it)

Or maybe there is something more nefarious afoot. Perhaps I should write a memo.

==

HIGH PRIORITY MEMO

EXTRA SPECIAL EMERGENCY CLASS DELIVERY

Monday January 16, 2012

To: VRWC HQ

From: LAS DC Outpost

** BURN AFTER READING **

========================

Stop sending instructions via snail mail. They are on to me. Please reimburse postage.
Share the genius :

Saturday, January 14, 2012

LAS 2011 Review & 2012 Preview (Part 4 of 4)

Part 1 covered domestic conditions.
Part 2 covered foreign affairs.
Part 3 covered the current electoral situation.
Part 4 covers this blog project.




When I inaugurated this blog nearly 25 months ago, the Democrat Party (usually referred to on this blog as DemoHacks or the Donkey Party) held commanding majorities on both sides of Capitol Hill and was also in command of the White House. This version of the Democrat Party held – and still holds - policy positions closer to Nikita Kruschev than to John F. Kennedy. The hapless GOP establishment had lost the entire store to the Donkey Party, mostly because they (the GOP) had foolishly governed as ersatz progressives. The Donkey Party, long ago taken over by real progressives, was riding high and hell bent on “fundamentally transforming” America into a European social democracy like Greece or, more likely, if given sufficient time to slide down the slippery slope, a communist misery pit like Cuba. It was a dark time for liberty.

The only countervailing political force was a grass-roots citizen driven movement whose name matched precisely its message – Taxed Enough Already (TEA). While simultaneously weathering a withering caricature assassination mercilessly coordinated by the corrupt and biased liberal media, the patriots in this movement, political novices for the most part, accomplished the initial stages of a hostile takeover of the empty husk that was the GOP. The initial fruits of this takeover were the historic “shellacking” of the Donkey Party in the election of 2010, giving the GOP control of the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, the Empty Suit Known as Barack Hussein Obama was not on the ballot, and therefore still sits in the White House scheming and dreaming for “fundamental transformation.” His method for furthering his socialist, statist dreams is to constantly pick fights with the House GOP with the objective of dividing the American people into competing factions. Just as he was instructed so long ago by the teachings of Saul Alinsky in “Rules For Radicals” and Bill Ayers in “Prairie Fire.”

The election of 2012 will be a monumentally decisive and historic election for this 235 year old republic. Just as the Newtonian F=M*A theme running through this blog archive predicts and documents. If control of the government is given to a newly TEA Party infused GOP, the future for liberty will be restored. If the government remains split, especially if BHO holds onto the White House, the prescription is four more years of chaotic gridlock and whatever that may lead to at street level. If, in the least likely event, full control is restored to BHO and his corrupt gang of Progressives: Hello Cuba! This blog will remain in operation until this historic decision is made by the American people. Whether or not it turns out to be “Shellacking II” as I fully expect, this blog will shutter operations once the decision is made. Assuming, for the sake of argument, a period of postscript extending from election day 2012 to inauguration day 2013 – what, then, to expect from LibertyAtStake over the next twelve months or so?

==

Keeping up a decent blog is hard work. That’s why so many of the hacks paid to do it suck at it. The ubiquitous bell curve that applies to all of life’s undertakings does not spare the blogging community.

In recognition of this, and the old saw “work smarter, not harder,” the evolution of the blog format has been a constant search for higher returns on lower investments (of effort).

I have also tried to keep in mind the first keystone to success in any endeavor is a clear and unambiguous mission statement.

“Because the Only Good Progressive is a Failed Progressive”

==

With these things in mind, I have settled on a few tweaks for the 2012 run.

I’m stripping down the header section. It will contain only one widget devoted to political cartoons. A picture being worth a thousand words, as they say. This will also allow the meat of the matter – my own genius spilling forth from my own archive – to rise closer to the top of the blog.

I’m pretty happy with the sidebar as it is. The Assigned Reading List will continue to grow as a library in its own right to fuel the Conservative Ascendancy. The Daily Barry will automatically update itself each day as a tool for monitoring the Conservative Ascendancy’s progress. The JAUL Gallery has grown in direct correlation to the scourge of the White House directed Occupy movement, and the 2012 projection is for explosive growth. The video roll will continue to be rich source of mirth for conservatives, and the Bob Schieffer Blog Roll will continue to be the best damn conservative RSS feed on the planet.

==

Getting back to the dual objectives – return on level of effort and mission – I think the 2012 run will have more frequent, but shorter, posts. I will be less concerned about delivering the essay format personified by this four part series. I will concentrate more on hitting one issue at a time, with a short commentary designed to connect it to larger themes.

Like, for example, when Barry and his corrupt gang were patting themselves on the back for hitting 8.5% unemployment, I would have put together something like:

• Link to some corrupt and biased MSM cheerleading piece.
• Link to that chart everyone has seen, reminding us these are the same hacks who told us the trillion dollar crap sandwich known as Stimulus was needed to keep the number below the 8% they expected if we did nothing.
• Link to a piece reminding us they got down to 8.5% in large part by not counting people who have stopped looking for work.
• Link to a piece reminding us the only number that really matters – real jobs added per month – was half of what is necessary to get back to pre-crash employment levels. (200,000 vs. 400,000)
• Something about the anemic growth being a product of the American spirit and free market despite being saddled by the most anti-growth administration in American history.
• A snarky conclusion – something like, “It’s called math. They should try doing it honestly some time.”

There will be ten more opportunities to do this one. You get the idea for now.

==

I’m sure there will be the occasional essay as my muse (a truly lazy fellow, truth be told) dictates.

For example, I’d like to find the time to write an essay contrasting progressivism and conservatism in a way that makes clear why progressivism is perpetually at a competitive advantage. Not because it has superior ideas; but, rather, because it is an easier “sell.” Progressivism allows its’ adherents to simply feel good about intentions. Consequences, intended and unintended, never seem to come into the calculus of the progressive mind – at least not an honest accounting of consequences, anyway. Any idiot with a beating heart can embrace progressivism – functioning brain totally optional. By contrast, conservatism requires its adherents to start out by thinking clearly and honestly about human nature, and then to apply this understanding to an honest calculation of policy consequences, before spending other people’s money or issuing mandates for everyone else.

As an aside, this contrast brings to my mind the one word answer I whip out whenever a progressive pulls out that favorite canard of theirs – “how can you be pro-life and for the death penalty?” The one word answer is accountability. The fetus in the womb has had zero opportunity to make any choices, and is therefore accountable for nothing. The defendant in the court room, as well as the mother carrying the fetus, is accountable for all the choices leading up to the circumstance they find themselves in. But I digress.

I’d also like to do an essay piece on the commonalities between agile software development and conservatism. Both begin with a hardheaded acceptance of reality as it is given to us, both value transparency and individual accountability, and both emphasize disciplined adaptation to constant change, while always maintaining contact with a few governing principles to guide the change management process. And, yes, I am quite aware there may be as many of three of you out there who will understand what I’m talking about.

==

I’m certain Jack Wiley Dithers and his cracker-jack investigative journalism team will make a few contributions. JWD informs me they are now busily intercepting Instant Message (IM) communications sent and received by the hirsute raggedy-ass recycled hippie that has been using the Starbucks store wi-fi ever since OccupyDC has been in town.

The ‘Commentapalooza’ format will make the occasional appearance – because the raw content is so easy to collect systematically. Which means the url signed comments will continue to seed the input. Sorry comment board prudes, the beatings will continue until morale improves.

I’m also considering mounting a comment board invasion on the Leftie and biased MSM sites. This has to be carefully timed, however. While the repartee of a comment board fight is fun for me (yes, I know I am on the extreme edge of this bell curve for conservatives), Lefties are a time-consuming bunch to engage directly. They possess a tireless capacity for circular argument, the non-sequitur, ad-hominem attack, and setting straw men on fire. The overall experience is like chasing a bevy of moonbats with a tennis racket. It’s a good work out largely achieving nothing but the workout itself. But, timed properly, it could change the minds of a few observers, perhaps.

==

What to do after this blogs closes its’ shutters? Well, first and foremost, I fully expect to be celebrating the inauguration of Not-Obama in January 2013. And I still enjoy what I do outside of politics / blogging for compensation. I also enjoy the political blogging, though it remains uncompensated. However, this blog archive will forever stand as a resume bullet on the political blogging side. The question of what to do beginning from 2013 and beyond looks like a nice problem to have to LAS.
Share the genius :