Hey, Y'all! Still here.

Egads! Almost three weeks since I last posted?
The Mets are still leading the NL East!?!
And college football has started?

Yeah, I'm still alive and (mostly) well.

We finally got word on the title search for the Bolt Hole. Success! The closing date came and went but the title search folks persisted and came up with a reasonably clean title that seems to have satisfied the buyers' attorney. THe closing is now scheduled for Friday, Septemebr 11th. Our attorney has all the paperwork needed to act on our behalf so I won't have to go up there for any reason.

The Mets have continued to make baseball interesting as the hold on to a five game lead over the Washington Nationals for first place in the NL East. There's a little controversy about Matt Harvey pitching only 180 innings (he's currently at 166 or so innings) but he's also got a remarkable low pitch-per-inning count that should allow him to pitch more.

The college football season got under way this week and there are still a couple of games to be played Sunday and Monday. My Rutgers Scarlet Knights had their share of controversy this week, too. Several players were arrested for off campus criminal behavior. (All five have been dropped from the team.) Head Coach Kyle Flood was accused of contacting an instructor to discuss one player's eligibility--a violation of school rules and now a moot point as regards that particular student as he was among the five. And several players were benched for the first half against Norfolk State for breaking curfew and trying to use a false ID to enter an establishment. (Two of them--Leonte Carroo and Chris Laviano connected for three TD passes in the second half.) RU had four passing TDs, four rushing TDs and a special teams TD when Janarion Grant ran the second half opening kickoff back 80 yards for a score. Oh, and the defense allowed minus four (-4) yards rushing.

Pro football starts next week and I'll be cheering on the Jets and GIants (in that order!).

Pro politics continues to amuse/frighten with Hillary Clinton being exposed (finally!) as incompetent, a liar and an incompetent liar to boot. That leaves Socialist Bernie Sanders as the Democratic front runner. (Yeah, he calls himself an Independent but if you listen to him, he's clearly a Socialist.) On the Republican side, Donald Trump is saying the things people agree with. Dr. Ben Carson is too but with less narcissism. And Ted Cruz is smarter than anybody else but has the disadvantage(?) of being a Senator. Anyway, pro politics, especially of the Presidential kind, is a l-o-n-g season.

Knees Things I Want to Talk About.

My new knees were ten weeks old on Monday, but after the workout they got during Friday's physical therapy session and the swelling and pain I felt all weekend, I would have pegged them as only 6 or 7 weeks of age.

A lot of the pain and suffering was a result of me being lax vis-a-vis my exercise habits while off to Portland for 5 days. Yeah, I did some stretching and spent time on the stationary bike at the hotel, but it obviously was not enough.

This morning I had a session in the therapist's pool and things went pretty well. There's still some pain going up and down stairs even with the water providing some support, but walking on the submerged treadmill--mush of the rest of the workout--was relatively painless.

I'll be back on dry land for Friday's PT bu this time I will have two days of long exercise sessions done at home to support me. Hopefully I'll see some progress, I'm told insurance will only cover PT through the 16th (approximately three months).

******

The leaves around the Northern Tier are really starting to turn. There's lots of purples, reds and oranges showing up. The bright yellow of aspen and maple haven't really "popped" yet with the exception of a few trees here and there. If the weather continues nice, I may have to go back out to Leonard Harrison SP at the Grand Canyon to snap a few pictures.

The forecast is for clear skies the next few days and highs approaching 80 degrees by the weekend so, if you're a leaf peeper, this might be a good time to hit the road--or, if you're lucky enough to live in the midst of the fall bounty, take a long look around. I figure you've got about two weeks max.

******

Terry and I went out passed Wellsboro yesterday to a produce stand on Rt. 287 to pick up some Cortland apples. Bruce and Sue had brought about a peck of Cortlands with them when they visited a few weeks ago and apples were available at the farmers' market in Mansfield last weekend. We didn't do anything with Bruce and Sue's supply until to day when Terry baked an apple pie with a few of them. The apples at the farmers' market were a tad pricey for me but Pagomar's had the Cortlands for $17 a bushel. I'll turn them into apple sauce within the next day or two. Should produce at least 24 pints for storage.

We also took inventory of our canned goods. Plenty of relish, garlic dill pickles, regular dill pickles, peaches, strawberry jam, blueberry jam as well as some grape jelly still on the shelves alongside the quarts of tomato sauce. Since some of the pickles and jams are several years old, I'm hoping they aged well. I KNOW they will be eaten now that we're more aware of their presence.

******

I hear there's a government "shutdown" going on. From the list of agencies and personnel furloughed, all I can say is, "Good! Change the locks while they're away." And while they're at it, there's plenty more under the heading of "Czar" that could probably be slashed--permanently.

I also hear that today was the first day to sign up at the exchanges for Obomacare. Many of the websites designed for that have crashed. Talk about not ready for prime time! Whether because so many people are trying to sign up or are curious about whether they have to sign up; or because the sites were poorly designed, a crash is indicative of the whole ACA. From "We have to pass it to find out what's in it," to the myriad of broken promises ("If you like your healthcare, you'll get to keep your healthcare." "This is going to lower the cost of healthcare in America."), to the number of exemptions granted--illegally--by the administration, this whole thing has been one major screw-up.

In which I give voice to a(nother) Rant

I've not been posting much here on Compass Points.

So much has been happening in politics that I find vile and disruptive to our freedoms that I can't begin to express my anger without growing frustrated. Between the Gang of 8's immigration push,  the IRS, the EPA, the NSA, the DOJ and the rest of the DC alphabet soup, can see little hope of our survival as a nation remotely resembling that the Founding Fathers established.

Our President picks and chooses the laws he wants to enforce (despite that being one of the prime responsibilities of the Executive Branch) and creates more by decree. Through the creation of czars and a Whitehouse that sets an onerous example of dictatorial aloofness, bureaucrats have taken on roles they were never meant to assume. Rules and regulations promulgated by cabinet level (or lower) appointees have choked our economy and infringed upon our freedoms.

Bengahzi, Fast and Furious, delay after delay on the XL pipeline for naught but political purpose, data gathering on private citizens, stonewalling the applications of Tea Party groups seeking tax exempt status--so as to prevent them from participating in the 2012 elections, various actions that will shut down inexpensive power generating stations in the name of Anthropogenic Global Warming (or Climate Change)--in a world that hasn't warmed in 16 years or more, a continued push for gun control headed by men from cities with deplorable illegal gun use.... I could go on and on.

And, instead of reporting the truth and focusing on the scandals embroiling out nation, the main stream press and 24-hour news channels are going all in on one distraction after another in an effort to protect the narratives(read "asses") of the Democrat Party.

All in all, things will be getting worse before they get better. I just hope that mass demonstrations will be the most that will be needed to right the wrongs being done. If it needs to--or is forced to--go beyond that, we are in a world of trouble.

Saturday at the Aerie

Yeah. Winter is coming. I woke up this morning to another dusting of snow on the ground and temperature on the deck of 33 degrees. When I went out to get the mail I also emptied the rain gauge. It held 0.45 inches of water--some of which was melted snow. The sun DID come out around noon--for half an hour. Slate gray skies returned soon after.

The clocks get set back tonight. This gives the pols an extra hour to make those calls we all love so much. Even so, I'm glad to rest the clocks. I woke up this morning at 4:30 AM with congested sinuses that had me sniffling and coughing. That noise was enough to trigger the cats who insisted I get out of bed. I tried to ignore them but they would not let up and I couldn't breath very well laying horizontal. So I got up at 5 AM, got dressed, and fed the little buggers. I'm going to need the extra sleep tonight.

I'm not sure if I'm coming down with a cold or if the addition of Miss Kitteh has triggered a critical mass of catitude that my allergy pills can not battle. In any event, I've swiftered to remove cat fur from the hardwood floor and plugged the air filter in. It seems to be working. Then again, Miss Kitteh, who has taken to sitting on my stomach and trying to catch the cursor icon on the laptop screen while sticking her tail in my face, hasn't bothered me today--much. She seldom comes up to the loft where I do my TV watching. (And Julie will share the recliner but stay on my ankles. Most of the time.)

******

Terry's Embroiderers' Guild event has wrapped up in Santa Fe, NM. She was on the road heading home soon after breakfast this morning and should be home late Monday unless she A) gets too tired or B) runs into foul weather. If delayed, it will be sometime Tuesday.

******

Political ads....

There have been lots of them on the tube. I'm watching football games on a station located in Scranton-Wilkes Barre, you know, where Joe Biden grew up. Other stations come out of Elmira, NY. Some of the ads are for positions in Pennsylvania. A few have been for offices in New York State. Lots of them have been for president. Some observations pertaining to the latter:

• Obama ads have been on the air around here for the last two weeks. Romney ads have appeared within the last week.
• Obama ads are invariably negative attack ads. Romney ads are primarily positive and...ahem...forward looking.
• If PA--like NY--is supposed to be in the Dem's pocket, why the big push? Could it be because a recent poll has said the Tom Smith (R) vs Bob Casey (D, incumbent) is suddenly even? 
• Or could it be that someone in the DNC finally realized we in PA elected a Republican Governor and a Republican US Senator in 2010 and that the Democrats could/should not take PA for granted.
• PA was pretty much ignored by Obama until the debate debacle. Romney made a few appearances and various PACs made a push in coal and gas country, but things ramped up considerably in the last two weeks. Something tells me the race for PA's 20 electoral votes became important to Obama when he realized he would lose many of the other swing states.
• I've also received half a dozen phone calls. Three for state offices (US Senate, Attorney General, State Treasurer) and three for president. I'm registered as a Republican so it's no surprise that the calls all came from Republicans. But Terry is listed as Independent and has received NO phone calls. SHE's supposed to be a prime target. Ya think they know she's in Santa Fe?

All that said, it will be the turnout in Philly and Pittsburgh, as well as how many of the voters in the subrurbs of those cities who voted for Obama in 2008 make the switch this time that decide this particular contest--and perhaps how things turn out in the nation.

I, for one, will be glued to the TV on Tuesday night.With my friend Jim; Jim Beam.

Getting There....

Presidential Rag

Arlo Guthrie wrote this back in 1976 about the Watergate coverup. (He claims that the day after he first performed it in public, Spiro Agnew resigned.)



Sadly, the song's lyrics fit our current President and our situation all to well.

Busy day today...

...or not.

* Clipped the cats' claws. (Shadow was getting "stuck" in the towels that cover the furniture, the furniture and her bed. Chester was just probing my knee/thigh with a little blood letting thrown in for good measure.) Their claws were like little scimitars with hypodermic syringes on the end.

I have to sort of sneak up on them to be able to catch them unawares. First I close all the doors to the laundry room, bedrooms, basement, bathroom, etc. This gives them fewer places to hide. Then I snag the one most likely to hide the best (Julie), sit her on my lap, and begin snipping. If the other two haven't wised up yet, that first "snip!" sends them scurrying about, but with the doors closed they have only the loft as a refuge. They protest a great deal about this, but five minutes after I'm done, they are more than willing to come and have lunch.

* Did the laundry. It's easy when you wear jeans, river runner pullovers, and white socks all the time. Just two piles: colored and white.

* Baked four dozen chocolate chip cookies. (Or at least that's all that made it to the cookie jar. Maybe one or two fewer than that, in fact.)

* Read all about Chuckles the Clown's Vice President Biden's less than comical performance during last night's debate. (Could stand watching just about five minutes of it between watching the baseball (Yankees vs. Baltimore; a nail biter) and football (Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee; so-so) games. If I didn't switch it off, I was going to need a new TV.)

This guy is a heartbeat away from the presidency? Lord, help us. Oh, and keep Obama healthy, for crying out loud! At least until January 20, 2013.

******

Speaking of the Yankees and Obama.... Ever see Damn Yankees? A Washington Senator's fan, Joe Hardy, makes a deal with the Devil: Joe's soul for a chance to play ball for the Senators and beat the damn Yankees for a change. The Devil is aided by a siren by the name of Lola, who is herself trapped in a shady deal with the Devil. Kind of reminds me of the current President's quick rise compared to his rather--shall we say--skimpy resume. It has me wondering who plays the Devil, who is Lola, and whether or not it was the soul of the USA that was bargained away.

******

We got a spritz of rain early this morning that didn't really amount to much. The wind, however, is something else. Out of the north-northwest at between 25 and 30 mph and bringing lots of cold air this way. The radio was saying it might get down to 21-22 degrees by morning. FREEZE warnings (not FROST...FREEZE) are up. Guess I won't be getting any snap peas this fall. I'll have to remember that they need to get in the ground between August 1 to 7 next year. Could be worse. At least there's no snow in the 15-day forecast. Yet.

******

Terry is currently in Atlanta for her SAGA Convention ad reports she is having a grand old time. Learning all sorts of new stuff, catching up with old acquaintances and making new ones. And she's winning door prizes, too. She got herself a voucher for one year's dues on the first day. She plans on leaving either late Sunday and stopping along the way, or early, early Monday and dead heading home. In either case, she'll be back at the Aerie Monday evening.

******

I'm heading into New Jersey tomorrow for the christening of little Samantha Rylee who just turned four months old. My nieces first child and my sister's first grandchild. Knowing my sis, Sami's probably spoiled rotten already. 

It's a Velvet Re-Revolution

Hey, I'm all up for a bit of revolution. Especially in a good cause.

What are your demands?

Our needs are simple. We seek to drive Brett Kimberlin’s fake Velvet Revolution into third place, or lower, on a Google search for the term. We estimate that we can do this within six months. Eventually we’d like to knock Wikipedia out of the top spot, but all things in their time. We seek to replace Brett Kimberlin’s fake Velvet Revolution with a fake Velvet Revolution of our own, a Velvet Revolution that tells the truth about Kimberlin and his henchmen, in order that past and potential donors to Kimberlin, such as George Soros, may be fully informed about who is cashing the checks.

Read why and how here.

Voting

Went to cast my primary ballot this morning while I was down the hill. The town rec center/meeting hall/voting hall is just across Route 6. I was the 29th voter at 10 AM (polls opened at 7 AM) and the only one there when I arrived so I was out numbered by poll workers 6 or 7 to 1. It wasn't until after I left that I realized that no one asked to see any ID as the law now requires. That's not a big deal under the circumstances. In a small town like ours most folks know one another and in a group of 6 or 7 poll workers, hell, there's bound to be at least one who knows who the heck you are!

The first time Terry and I went to vote after we moved in, we had our driver's licenses and registration cards in hand when, before we had said anything, one of the woman at the table announced, "These are the Fabers who just moved in on Connelly Mountain Road." She was the township secretary and had seen (but not spoken to) Terry at the Post Office. The post mistress had told her all about us.

Small town America! Ain't it grand?

******

On a totally different front, Tim Hutton beat out Jody Stahancyk in Portland's faux Mayoral Madness contest. Jody's attempt to get Mr. Hutton disqualified on non-residency issues failed. She lost the election due to the rather rabid fans of Mr. Hutton.
Timothy Hutton 57.31% (5,391 votes)
Jody Stahancyk 42.69% (4,015 votes)


Thanks to those of you who took the time to cast your vote(s) for Jody over the course of this most unusual Mayoral Madness event.

Heh?

From Hot Air: Democrats (Not) At Work Says it all:

"For a party that demands that voters put them in charge, they seem utterly unwilling to do the job once they have it. Voters should keep this in mind in November, up and down the ballot."

Say What?

In an item in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review dealing with the recent unforced error by Hilary Rosen, Democratic adviser, who made comments as to Ann ROmney having no ability to comment on anything economic since she had "actually never worked a day in her life," we have this gem:

President Obama told an Iowa television station that families are off limits in campaigns.

"I don't have a lot of patience for commentary about the spouses of political candidates," Obama said. "Those of us who are in the public life, we're fair game. Our families are civilians."

As Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit says: "Tell it to the people who covered Sarah Palin, some of whom have been invited to dinner with Obama."

To which I would add:
Of course, Obama would love to have family's off limits in the upcoming campaign. Pointing out just how many junkets and family vacations the First Lady and/or her daughters have indulged in on the taxpayers' dime is not the sort of thing someone trying to portray the "rich" as "evil" is likely to want.

And let us not even begin to delve into the poltiical speeches the First Lady has delivered on the stump or at expesive political fundraisers.

Heh!

Groundhog Day 2012

Groundhog Day..............

In the coming year, 2012, both Groundhog Day and The State of the Union Address will occur on the same day.

This is an ironic juxtaposition of events.

One involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to an insignificant creature of little intelligence for prognostication.

The other involves a groundhog.

(Seen at Theo Spark's place.)

On Obamacare

From Rasmussen Reports:

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care law passed by Congress in March 2010, while 35% at least somewhat oppose repeal.

Only 55%? Apparently some in that other 35% still don't know what's in the bill or its implications.

Anytime someone tells you you have to pass a bill to find out what's in it, your automatic--and correct--response should be: "No."

Make that: "Hell no!"

What the heck! It's not like it's real money.

First we had a $535-million loan guarantee to now-bankrupt solar equipment maker Solyndra, a loan in which a top fundraiser for President Obama was heavily involved.

And now we get news of a $433-million plan to buy an experimental smallpox drug, despite uncertainty over whether it is needed or will work, a drug, by the way, produced by a company whose controlling shareholder is billionaire Ronald O. Perelman, one of the world's richest men and a longtime Democratic Party donor.

(For those who are not aware...smallpox is extinct in the wild. Has been since 1979. It only exists in research laboratories. That means existing methods of vaccination must have worked just fine and raises the question of why a new vaccine is even needed.)

Either story is as likely to appear on the evening news as stories of Attorney General Holder's congressional testimony on Fast and Furious. A demonstration of lawlessness, incompetence, and...well...not much else, if there ever was one.

No, the above stories won't appear because the news folks are too busy talking about Penn State, Cain's accusers, and Perry's brain freeze. Important stuff, ya know.

November 2012 can not get here fast enough.

President "Present" Screws US Again

By deciding to postpone a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast by essentially voting "Present", Obama has succeed in sending more than jobs to China. He may have now sent oil as well. Canadian PM eyes China after US pipeline delay

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper would much rather trade oil for US dollars rather than yaun from a country much more likely to be a competitor than a partner.

The Harper government has pressed Obama to approve the 1,700-mile (2,700-kilometer) pipeline extension, which would stretch through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma before ending up in Texas.

Canada, the pipeline's lead company TransCanada, and Obama's Republican opponents say the $7 billion project would provide the United States with a stable source of energy from an ally and create thousands of jobs.

"I remain optimistic that the project will eventually go ahead because it makes eminent sense," Harper said.

"This project is obviously what's in the best interest not just of the Canadian economy but also of the American economy," he said.

But with the 2012 election around the corner Obama can't afford to piss off the environmentalists who would rather we all stop using oil and all fossil fuels. They say they are concerned with contamination of aquifers in Nebraska and that burning tar sands oil will release more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Guess they'd rather see the oil shipped via tanker over the Pacific (nope, no chance of spills there!) to be refined/burned in China. I'm sure the Chinese equivalent of the EPA has even stricter monitoring regulations than the USEPA so all those nasty, dirty pollutants and greenhouse gases will be scrubbed from the smokestacks of the Chinese factories.

Representatives of the Sierra Club were super pleased with the delay and are still calling for a complete abandonment of the Keystone XL pipeline project. They and their World Wildlife Federation and Green Peace friends are idiots.

The many thousands of US pipeline workers, refinery workers support personnel, etc.--some say upwards of 20,000--who now will have to wait until at least 2013 to find out whether the pipeline gets built and they get a paycheck for their labors, were not available fro comment.

Fast and Furious = one big cluster F***

A big story that has been running under the Big Media radar for months may finally be getting some legs. I'm talking about Fast and Furious.

If you haven't heard of it, Fast and Furious was a program run by ATF that allowed thousands of guns to be purchased by folks who should not have been allowed to purchase a single weapon--some convicted felons--who then smuggled them into Mexico to sell to a drug cartel. Hundreds of Mexicans were killed using those weapons and at least one US border security officer was slain.

Now CBS is reporting that late Friday night, the White House released numerous documents (not all that were asked for, BTW), some of which seem to implicate the White House in this debacle. Friday night is the time when such documents/statement are made, hoping that they will be ignored/down played in the news. Hopefully, that will not be the case this time.

New Fast and Furious docs released by White House

Late Friday, the White House turned over new documents in the Congressional investigation into the ATF "Fast and Furious" gunwalking scandal.

The documents show extensive communications between then-ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix office Bill Newell - who led Fast and Furious - and then-White House National Security Staffer Kevin O'Reilly. Emails indicate the two also spoke on the phone. Such detailed, direct communications between a local ATF manager in Phoenix and a White House national security staffer has raised interest among Congressional investigators looking into Fast and Furious. Newell has said he and O'Reilly are long time friends.

I've seen T-shirts that say "Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a federal bureau." Who knew just how accurate that comment would be IF you were a member of a Mexican drug cartel?

Congressional investigators for Republicans Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) have asked to interview O'Reilly by September 30. But the Administration informed them that O'Reilly is on assignment for the State Department in Iraq and unavailable.

One administration source says White House national security staffers were "briefed on the toplines of ongoing federal efforts, but nobody in White House knew about the investigative tactics being used in the operation, let alone any decision to let guns walk."

Right! The guy just happens to be in Iraq.

And "...nobody in White House knew about the investigative tactics being used in the operation, let alone any decision to let guns walk." LOL. If true, than we certainly have a number of rogue--and very, very stupid--operatives in the White House. And they aren't all working to kill our energy programs and the economy.

Here's hoping a special prosecutor is soon appointed to investigate what's gone on here. Someone needs to get jail time or, should the trail lead to the president, impeached.

As others have said: Watergate had no fatalities. Fast and Furious has killed hundreds of Mexicans and at least one American.

Jobs, Spending, Government

If you're a regular viewer of TV news, you've probably seen tape of the President saying he wants action on his jobs bill now. There's only a couple of problems with that...
Durbin says Democrats don’t currently have the votes for Obama jobs bill

The jobs plan is made up of a combination of tax increases on the wealthy, new infrastructure spending, an extension of the employee payroll-tax cut and additional funding for unemployment insurance benefits.

Republicans have voiced opposition to the plan, albeit less than with other pieces of legislation Democrats have proposed recently.

Durbin added that the president’s bill would need bipartisan support because there are senators both on the left and the right opposed to aspects of it.

That's Senator Dick Durbin (D) Majority Whip in the Senate. He says he needs Republican votes despite the fact that the Democrats have a majority in the Senate. Seems some of them (Senate Dems) do not like the plan.

Senate delays jobs bill to take on China

The president’s plan would combine $447 billion in temporary tax cuts and infrastructure spending over the next several years, which would be offset with permanent tax cuts that would raise $467 billion over the next decade.

While the tax cuts and spending have some support, there is bipartisan opposition to his tax increases, making that bill a tough sell in either chamber.

“We’ll get to that, but let’s get some of these things done that we have to get done first,” Mr. Reid said.

The office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, declined to comment on the schedule.

The legislation Mr. Reid has placed ahead of the jobs bill is a bipartisan bill that combines the efforts of two other bipartisan bills to try to force China to increase the value of its currency, the yuan, compared with the U.S. dollar.

That's Senator Harry Reid (D) the Senate Majority Leader who sets the agenda.

Then there's this from Hot Air:

Just a reminder: Obama’s jobs bill still has no cosponsors

No co-sponsors have added their names to either the Senate or the House version even after more than a week, although readers have to dig a ways into the Washington Post report to find that out....

Only two folks seem to even recognize there is a bill: Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) and Representative John B. Larson (D-Conn). Not one other member of either Senate or House has lent his/her name to this piece of...legislation.

In the House things don't look any better as few Democrat Representatives want to put their name on a bill that will, by best estimates, create jobs at a cost of $200K per job.

$200K Per Job? Timothy Geithner Says White House Jobs Plan Is Still a Bargain

"You've got to think about the costs of the alternatives," Geithner said when asked about Harvard economist Martin Feldstein's calculation that each job created by President Obama's American Jobs Act would cost taxpayers about $200,000.

"If government does nothing, it does nothing now because they're scared by politics or they want to debate what's perfect, then there will be fewer Americans back to work, the economy will be weaker," he said.

That's Timothy Geithner, tax cheat and TUrbo Tax challenged Secretary of the Treasury.

There are things the government could do: 1-Cut spending 2-Cut regulation 3-Get the heck out of the way

Then there's this problem on the deficit:
Exclusive: Democrats push tax hikes first in deficit talks

Yeah, new taxes. Just remember that the new taxes were tried back in Herbert Hoover's day. How'd that work out? And the Democrats once promised that they would consider spending cuts once before with the first President Bush. They agreed to make cuts after new taxes were passed. They didn't live up to that promise. They won't live up to this one. Democrats never agree to meaningful cuts.

US Energy Facts

I saw this posted over at Maggie's Farm. It needs to be spread far and wide.

You won't here this coming from President Obama. He and the environmentalists have decided we're to become energy poor. Unless it comes from nuclear...wait that was two decades ago...windmills...no, that was before they discovered windmills kill birds, bats and views...solar...no, desert tortoises....Well, energy poor.





You want to reduce the cost of energy and boost the American economy? We could do that now.
You want energy independence? We could do it now.
You want to reduce the trade deficit? We could do that now.
You want to tell the Arabs in the Middle East--unsound and unsavory suppliers of so much of our oil--to go pound sand? We could do that now.

What's that? You're worried about climate change? Hell, CO2 is not driving climate change, it's following increased temperatures...just like it always has. Besides CO2 promotes plant growth and is a miniscule part of the atmosphere (currently just below 400 parts per million...and that's really tiny..less than 0.04% by volume). Despite the findings of the USEPA, CO2 is hardly the deadly chemical they make it out to be. (Twenty times the current level to make you drowse? That's toxic? And plants love that 1% CO2. They gobble it up. "...elevated CO₂ levels cause increased growth reflected in the harvestable yield of crops, with wheat, rice and soybean all showing increases in yield of 12–14% under elevated CO2 in FACE experiments.") And warm temperatures kill far fewer people than cold temperatures do. ("...Palutikof et al. (1996) calculate that in England and Wales for a 1 °C temperature rise the reduced deaths from cold outweigh the increased deaths from heat, resulting in a reduction in annual average mortality of 7000, while Keatinge et al. (2000) “suggest that any increases in mortality due to increased temperatures would be outweighed by much larger short term declines in cold related mortalities.” Cold-related deaths are far more numerous than heat-related deaths in the United States, Europe, and almost all countries outside the tropics.") Only mad dogs and Englishmen remain out in the noon day sun when shade is available. Warm temperatures also promote much nicer scenery. Check it out.

Drill Baby Drill

Those guys from Minnesota are at it again. This is one of their best parodies yet. A take off of Chuck Berry's Johnnie B. Goode.



(First seen at Theo Spark's Last of the Few)