Conservatism Today

'Black Friday' Sales up 3% over Last Year

Post-Thanksgiving sales are up. And why wouldn't they be? The Faux Depression is based primarily on a bad housing market caused by people who couldn't afford to pay their mortgages over-purchasing in the hope of making a killing on the re-sale. So, they failed... who cares? Most of the people who have lost their homes have gone from a mortgage (ie, a debt) they couldn't afford, to a rent bill that they can. I fail to see the problem when it comes to short term consumer spending.

And with gas prices plummeting, people can now afford to drive to the stores.

Sales rose to $10.6 billion, the Chicago-based company said in a statement. The increase was the smallest since a decline of 0.9 percent in 2005 and compares with a jump of 8.3 percent last year. “So far, so good,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners LLC, a retail consulting firm based in New Canaan, Connecticut. “But a decent Black Friday figure doesn’t predict the whole season. The question is, how much momentum we can keep” in this “challenging” economic environment, Johnson said.

U.S. retailers are making earlier and deeper price cuts to lure Christmas shoppers, who are coping with the shrinking values of homes and stock holdings along with increasing joblessness. The season can account for as much as a third of annual profit.

November and December sales at U.S. stores open at least a year may rise 1 percent, the smallest gain since 2002, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York- based trade group.

I'm not denying that the economy is significantly below average right now. But it's pretty nice to remember that in America, we call small increases in growth and historically low unemployment a "poor economy."

Personally, I'm pausing to reflect on how blessed we are in this country, where most of us are still busy fighting traffic in order to buy all the trivial, unnecessary crap we'll be giving our loved ones this Christmas. In actual poor economies worldwide, people don't do this.

Want Crime? Elect a Democrat Mayor - Quiz Included

Interesting crime statistics from CQPress.com... Actually, if you're like me, you probably could have guessed at least 8 of the top 15 without looking.

The first seven were all no-brainers. I'll give you a hint for each of them; see if you can guess the city.

In order:

1. The city where the people were so dependent on government that they couldn't manage to get out of town with a couple days' advance warning. Did you know that buffoon Mayor "School Bus" Ray Nagin is still in charge of things there? How sick is that?

2. America's Eastern Armpit.

3. The home to the longest ongoing single-city Depression in American history.

4. America once considered halting its western expansion at the Mississippi River due to the nastiness of the street gangs in this city. But Democrats said if we just didn't call any of their actions "crimes" and stopped trying to prevent them from committing these acts, the gangs would be happy and crime would stop and kids in Iraq would be flying kites in the park, while child-stalker film-maker Michael Moore ogled filmed them. OK, I made all that up. But I bet you can guess the city.

5. America's Western Armpit. You can earn a Congressional Medal of Honor for wearing the opposing team's colors into this city's NFL stadium and making it out alive.

6. Runner up to Number Three above, both in its state and in the nation. The United Auto Workers took over the city with a sit-down strike in 1937, slowly and sadistically killing it over the next 70 years.

7. America's Crotch. If you've ever driven through this Indiana city, you know exactly what I mean.

I'm getting depressed. We've got some real shit-hole cities in this country. Anyways, here are the 15 most crime-ridden cities for 2008:

1 New Orleans, LA
2 Camden, NJ
3 Detroit, MI
4 St. Louis, MO
5 Oakland, CA
6 Flint, MI
7 Gary, IN
8 Birmingham, AL
9 Richmond, CA
10 North Charleston, SC
11 Cleveland, OH
12 Baltimore, MD
13 Miami Gardens, FL
14 Memphis, TN
15 Youngstown, OH

How many did you guess correctly? I got nine, ten if you let me count Cincinnati as Youngstown.

What do all these cities have in common? No Republican mayors. 13 Democrats, 1 Green Party and 1 Independent.

What do most of them have in common? Democrats have controlled them for all or most of the last 50 years.

I eyeballed the rest of the list. If you go down to number 33, I'm guessing there are no more than five current or recent Republican mayors.

If you look at the areas with the least crime, you see tons of Texas cities and all the conservative parts of California and New York.

Any lessons to be learned here? Of course not. These places have all had 50+ years to learn the lessons. They are obviously not capable of doing so. Who says we don't get the government we deserve?

Terror Attacks in India

I was working on some other stuff this morning, and am a little late to the awful news of the major terror attacks going on in India today. My prayers go out to anyone caught up in this mess and anyone who has friends or family in the area. The people responsible for this must be made to pay in a very big way, as if they had done this on our soil. Western civilization must work together to eradicate those who attempt to terrorize it.

If you are catching up on the news like I am, you may want to go where I am going for my updates - Ace of Spades. Constant updates plus plenty of comments make that a great place for following stories like this.

Breaking: Major Terror Attacks In India UPDATE: Death Toll Increased And Fighting Continues REPORT: Americans Held Hostage

The reporter at the IBL stream (India TV network) just said that gunmen at one of the hotels attacked specifically demanded room numbers of Americans and that Americans are being held hostage.

It's 1:30 in the morning there and this has been going on for hours. It's obviously a chaotic situation and lots of information may not pan out but that's what they are reporting now.

Westerners definitely are targets.

Indian Terror Attack Part II

Several upscale hotels (frequented by westerners), a hospital, a train station and a police station were attacked in a coordinated effort that has been going on for about 4 hours and is continuing at the moment.

The cities top anti-terrorist cop is dead and several of his top officers are have either been killed or wounded.

Broadcast reports say 80 are dead and 200 wounded but that's likely to increase.

National anti-terror troops have moved into the area, including at least one of the hotels where hostages are being held.

Texas State Representative Reminds us of the Purpose of the 2nd Amendment

I know this footage is five years old, but it is a good reminder. And a pretty gripping story. 2003 video of Texas state representative, Suzanna Gratia-Hupp, whose parents were killed by an insane gunman while her gun was out in the car, giving testimony about the REAL reason that the second amendment was guaranteed by our founders:

We have gun rights so that we can defend ourselves against those who would harm us, up to and including a tyrannical government. That's it. So you know where you can go with the old "you don't need an assault rifle to hunt deer" argument.

Advice For People Who Want to Start or Build up their Own Blog

I receive many emails from people asking advice on starting up a new blog, or building traffic at their current one, and am always happy to help. I have no problem with more competition, I would rather see conservative voices all over the place, growing the pie that we all have to share. The more people talking about conservative views, the more people who will be candidates to visit my place from time to time. And if you are blogging on another topic, that's fine too.

I have an email I send to people, and am going to post part of it here, so I can just link people to it from now on. If you have any further questions that you think I could help you with, email me. I wrote this about two months after I started this blog, which would make it about 4 months ago. When I had less traffic, I used a couple of other things to build traffic, like Digg and other social networking sites. I don't do so anymore, but those can be useful.

I started this in June full-time, with about a dozen viewers a day, mostly friends and family, but I developed clear goals and a partial plan to build it. By the end of the month I was up to about 50 a day, by the end of July I was up to about 125, and I'm guessing I'll be around 200-300 once the bump from my latest article dies down.

The first thing I decided was that I needed to provide original content that provided value to my readers (along with the daily grind posts that just report what is going on and give a few thoughts on it) every week. If you don't provide value, you have no business wanting people to look at what you wrote. I'd work on doing 1 piece a week that is your "anchor" post, totally original and intended to bring in readers by providing great value of some kind.

I try to plan one article a week as an anchor. That's what my 24 Best Conservative Blogs was, and I've gotten 4000 views in four days. (Update: that post has now been viewed more than 15000 times, and is how most readers have found me.) My comparison between Reagan and Obama was my first one. My Top 10 Positive Effects of an Obama Victory was my first one to be picked up elsewhere, and really helped a lot. One link from Conservative Grapevine will get you 1000 visits. (Or 1500 in the case of my most recent one).

I gathered a list of the emails of bloggers at my favorite sites, and when I have a piece that I think is worthy of being picked up and worth the time and hassle of bothering others about it, I write a short email telling them that I have a post up that I think they and their readers will like (UPDATE: I haven't done this in months. I probably should do so more often). If you keep these requests to a minimum (every week or two in my case) most bloggers will happily take a look at it and consider linking to it. And sometimes you make a friend, which is even better. (UPDATE: I have made a few friends and even a couple future business partners doing this.)

Whether or not you want to make money, you deserve to make money if you are providing true value to your readers. Once you get to a thousand viewers a day, you should look at monetizing it, if not before. Loyal readers value your opinion. If you can point them to a book you like, a product that has helped you in life, or another site they are likely to enjoy, then you should earn something for that service.

Think about how you provide value and try to use the majority of your blogging time providing exactly that. Given your schedule, I'd try for 2 hours per week on some kind of marketing and the rest on building valuable content, and you'll grow every month and most weeks. Here are some great pieces that helped me a ton, some of which I have put to use, and some of which I won't until I'm over 1000 viewers a day (which I will be by election time, according to my plan). (UPDATE: I made it.)

How to Build a High-Traffic Blog (Great read)

How to Make Money From Your Blog (Great read)

That site has tons of great articles on all aspects of personal development. Here's more:

These from ProBlogger are good: 10 Ways More Readers,  19 More Ways, Make it Sticky, More Ways .

And these from Performancing: Linkbaiting, Traffic.

And this is awesome:

Blog Profits Blueprint (much more than just profit in here) (UPDATE: Should you decide to take his class, please use my link in the left sidebar to sign up for it. I have not taken his class, but I do read a lot of his stuff. I feel comfortable saying that I am confident that the information Yaro provides would be helpful for anyone who wants to make money blogging.)

Any questions - feel free to email me.

French Nightclubs Burned Down in War Between Swingers and Nudists; France Surrenders

Some stories are just too easy:

One of Europe’s most famous nudist colonies has become the subject of an unusual investigation by French detectives after the destruction of three nightclubs in fires blamed on naturist "hardliners."

The normally peaceful Cap d’Agde, a magnet for nudists in the south of France, has been plunged into anxiety as investigators suspect "fundamentalist" nudists of harboring a grudge against the échangistes, or swingers, who are drawn to the town by the promise of sex.

A so-called boîte échangiste — or wife-swapping club — called Glamour, where couples engage in group sex, was the first to be destroyed in April. The next day, the Palme Ré, another orgy venue, also went up in flames. In September, the Tantra club and Zen, its neighboring bar, were leveled in blazes.

No one was hurt but the fires have shocked a community whose crime rate has been dominated until now by cases of exhibitionism.

Tensions have risen between the naturists, who believe that nudity is a healthy choice of lifestyle and nothing to do with sex, and the échangistes, who are attracted to nudist camps by the prospect of multiple partners.

So, from what the article says, and what my sources who would know about such things are saying, the naturists are the people that say nudity and sex have nothing to do with one another. These are the people who become nudists because it's the only way anyone will ever look at them naked. The swingers, meanwhile, are greedy. They want lots of sex with lots of different people. But at least they realize that nudity and sex tend to go together better than, say, nudity and taking a trip to the corner bar.

So basically the ugly nudists are terrorizing the greedy swingers' night clubs. And the cops are unable to stop naked people from committing these crimes.  You can almost hear the conversation between the police.

"Hey, what's that hideously deformed naked dude doing carrying all that dynamite?"

"Must be going bar-hopping again."

Did I even have to mention that this took place in France?

And how much fun did the author of this piece have writing it? Naturist "hardliners"? Too funny.

Who knew Ted Kennedy was a nudist?

Jack Bauer is Alive and Well and Killing the Enemy in Afghanistan

If you saw 24 Sunday Night, you saw Jack Bauer killing a bunch of African warlords and their minions. What you didn't see was that Jack did the exact same thing just a week before in Afghanistan. Seriously, if film crews followed Jack Bauer around every day, they would never run out of new seasons of the show.

In all seriousness, our Marines rock. From Bill Dupray at the Patriot Room: Outnumbered Nearly 10:1, Marines Make 'Em Pay

In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it...

During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn’t miss any shots, despite the enemies’ rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position.

“I was in my own little world,” the young corporal said. “I wasn’t even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target.”

Notice they didn't name the "young corporal." When Jack Bauer tells you he doesn't want his name on the record, it's off the record.

Read the full piece for the full description of the battle. As Dupray notes, not a single Marine was seriously injured. Amazing.

Like everyone else, I often feel the need to suspend my disbelief when watching 24.  But this lone marksman single-handedly did the exact same thing we see Jack Bauer do every week.

Meanwhile, I found some Jack Bauer funny while searching the net. Below are some of my favorite ones.  At the link, many more: Top 100 Jack Bauer Facts

There are two hands that can beat a royal flush. Jack Bauer's right hand and Jack Bauer's left hand.

The city of Los Angeles once named a street after Jack Bauer in gratitude for his saving the city several times.  They had to rename it after people kept dying when they tried to cross the street.  No one crosses Jack Bauer and lives.

Jack Bauer was once charged with attempted murder in Los Angeles County, but the judge dropped all charges because Jack Bauer never "attempts" murder.

Some people see the glass as half full. Others see it as half empty. Jack Bauer sees the glass as a deadly weapon.

When a convicted terrorist was sentenced to face Jack Bauer, he appealed to have the sentence reduced to death.

Jack Bauer's sperm come in 9mm, .40, and 12 gauge slug.

Once, someone tried to tell Jack Bauer a "knock knock" joke. Jack Bauer found out who was there, who they worked for, and where the goddamned bomb was.

If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.

Jack Bauer always tests positive for steroids. Not that he uses steroids. It's because steroids are made from Jack Bauer.

The 2007 budget for the US Military covers Jack Bauer, two pistols and four billion rounds of ammunition.

There have been no terrorist attacks in United States since Jack Bauer has appeared on television.

Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland.  Jack Bauer gets played by no man.

Alex Trebek once asked Jack Bauer the question, "What's your idea of a perfect game show?" He replied with, "I'm the contestant and I ask the questions around here." Jeopardy was born at that moment.

When Kim Bauer lost her virginity, Jack Bauer found it and put it back.

When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer fucking hates lemonade.

It's no use crying over spilt milk... Unless that was Jack Bauer's milk. Oh you are so screwed.

...and on the seventh day Jack Bauer said, "I'll take it from here."

Obama Appoints Radical Proponent of Baby Killing as Communications Director

Every time Barack Obama surprises me by picking a reasonably reasonable person for one spot, he selects a whackably wacky person for the next. Ellen Moran, his new communications director, was his Saturday nutcase selection.

Moran is the executive director and chief strategist of EMILY's List, the nation's most powerful political action committee that focuses on increasing the number of pro-abortion women in Congress and governorships. "Early Money is Like Yeast," the group's originating name, focused on 14 races nationwide and featured them on EMILY's List website.

I have been told that wanting abortion to remain legal, safe and rare is not a radical position. I don't disagree. However, making it your life's work to make sure that people who favor abortion on demand get elected out of some harebrained idea that the right to off your own offspring is the right most worth fighting for, above all others? At best it indicates a horrifying lack of perspective. 

And why should this woman even care about the issue? It has been my experience that women who devote their life's work to making sure other women don't have their careers sidetracked by being punished with a baby and who work for an organization with the word "yeast" in its name, don't ever have to worry about winding up pregnant.

Alan Colmes Leaving "Hannity and Colmes"

Looks like the best show in the last decade for hearing competing views is no more. Somewhat sane lefty Alan Colmes will be leaving the show. From FOX News:

In announcing his decision, Colmes said, “I approached Bill Shine (FNC’s Senior Vice President of Programming) earlier this year about wanting to move on after 12 years to develop new and challenging ways to contribute to the growth of the network. Although it’s bittersweet to leave one of the longest marriages on cable news, I’m proud that both Sean (Hannity) and I remained unharmed after sitting side by side, night after night for so many years.”

Colmes will continue to have a presence on FNC as he will serve as a liberal commentator on a variety of FOX News programming, including Foxnews.com’s The Strategy Room and continue hosting his radio program, The Alan Colmes Show on FOX Talk, a division of FOX News Radio. He will also begin developing a weekend program…

Hannity added, “Not only has Alan been a remarkable co-host, he’s been a great friend which is rare in this industry. I’ll genuinely miss sparring with such a skillful debate partner.”

Alan Colmes is a class act. Horribly misguided, but a class act. He will be missed, and I doubt I will appreciate him nearly as much if he is on his own, without Hannity to beat some sense into him now and again.

Personally, I'd love to see Hannity and Kirsten Powers. Powers is a reasonable liberal, highly intelligent and not bad to look at.

But it looks like FOX is leaning towards Hannity and Hannity, which would be a mistake.

So what will happen to “Hannity & Colmes?” Sean Hannity, the popular conservative commentator, may become the sole host of the program, according to one source close to the network who insisted on anonymity while speaking about private deliberations. Mr. Hannity currently hosts a weekend program, “Hannity’s America,” that may be used as a template for the weekday program. A Fox News spokeswoman said that no decision had been made.

This would be a mistake. Hannity needs a liberal foil to make television work, in my opinion. And he is at his best when challenging liberals. Liberals won't be as likely to show up without another host who will pander to them and make sure they get their talking points out.

FOX needs to think this through, The show can go on. But not without a leftist viewpoint to counter Sean Hannity.
Who would you like to see opposite Sean? Or do you think this can work on a daily basis, following O'Reilly, without a co-host?

Favre, Jets Turn Titans' Tough Guy into Whiny Little Bitch

Most of you know that I'm a huge Brett Favre fan. I've seen or listened to every game he's started in his NFL career, and that has not changed, despite him becoming a New York Jet this season. This season has been bizarre for me. My wife and I finally got the NFL Sunday Ticket so we could see every game. I've seen every Green Bay Packers game this year, every New York Jets game, every Arizona Cardinals game (they are finally watchable, after a decade of me living in the desert) and every Steelers game (my wife is a fan and I enjoy watching Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu.)

So forgive me for breaking up the absolute nothingness going on in the world of politics, and commenting briefly about the complete ass-kicking the New York Jets and Brett Favre put on the previously unbeaten New York Jets.

Jets beat Titans 34-13:

After the game linebacker Keith Bulluck, as funny as he is talented, put on a show for a small group of media, alternating between defending the Titans and showing begrudging respect for the Jets. Like the Tennessee fans, he wasn't happy with some of the officiating.

"Refs get paid just like us," Bulluck said. "They should get fined just like us." Then he paused and added: "I've been in this league for nine years. I ain't worried about no fines."

Bulluck then said that the two best teams in the NFL are in New York (technically they both play their home games in New Jersey). He could barely contain his smirk after making the statement.

You're being sarcastic, right, I asked?

"Very," said Bulluck. "Facetious."

"Now we know for the next time we play them," Bulluck said of the Jets. "It'll be a different game next time."

You mean, there's going to be a next time, I asked?

"It's up to them," he said.

First, let me note that Keith Bullock is a hell of a player, and has been for a long time. This makes his whining after the game all the more remarkable. He knows enough to realize that his team got dominated. He knows enough to say, "Hey, they played a hell of a game. We've got to get back to work." 

But instead he whines about officiating and refuses to credit the Jets. This tells me the Jets got deep inside his head on Sunday. This tells me that he's putting on a false front. This tells me that he doesn't think the Titans can play with this team if they meet in the playoffs.

This tells me that he's hoping beyond hope that there is no next time.

Meanwhile, we have the Packers playing Monday Night Football tonight. For those of you who enjoy making a few bones on the football games, my pick on the total score of this game can be found at my other site, Smartplays.

And why wouldn't you enjoy making some bones on sports. With the current state of the financial markets, I'm doing less gambling in the market and more investing in proven winners: sports betting and online poker.

Least Favorite Lefties

Apparently it's poll time for John Hawkins of Right Wing News. I participated in this one, too, but unlike most of the people who voted, I was thinking more in terms of politicians than everyday people and media. Full list here:

10) Al Gore (14)
7) Hillary Clinton (16)
7) Michael Moore (16)
7) Markos Moulitsas (16)
5) Al Franken (17)
5) Barney Frank (17)
4) Keith Olbermann (26)
3) Barack Obama (28)
2) Harry Reid (30)
1) Nancy Pelosi (34)

5 of the top 6 made my list, and Olby would have been if I was thinking about it that way.

Here's the list I sent Hawkins:

Barack Obama

Nancy Pelosi

Harry Reid

Janet Napolitano

Micheal Moore

Maxine Waters

Barney Frank

Hillary Clinton

Chuck Schumer

Howard Dean

Al Franken

Bill Maher

Here's something I've wondered: How much of a difference is there between those of us who spend our free time writing about this bullshit, and those who enjoy reading the bullshit we write?

If you had to name your 8-12 least favorite lefties, what would it look like?

The Obligatory Thanksgiving Time, What do you Know About America Quiz

Check this out. Should take about 5 minutes to answer the 33 questions. I scored 32 of 33, missing question #7 for some reason. The rest of America, not so well:

Are you more knowledgeable than the average citizen? The average score for all 2,508 Americans taking the following test was 49%; college educators scored 55%. Can you do better? Questions were drawn from past ISI surveys, as well as other nationally recognized exams.

Take the Quiz

A few notes. The fact that educators averaged 55% on this should come as no surprise. It doesn't take much knowledge to teach liberal arts.

Finding 1:

Americans Fail the Test of Civic Literacy

Seventy-one percent of Americans fail the test, with an overall average score of 49%.

• Liberals score 49%; conservatives score 48%. Republicans score 52%; Democrats score 45%.
• Fewer than half of all Americans can name all three branches of government, a minimal requirement for understanding America’s constitutional system.

Additional Finding

Elected Officials Score Lower than the General Public

Officeholders typically have less civic knowledge than the general public. On average, they score 44%, five percentage points lower than non-officeholders.

• Thirty percent of elected officials do not know that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are     
• the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence.

These are our voters and our representatives. Does anyone doubt that we get the government we deserve? I actually am pleasantly surprised that anything functions at all. Should I bother asking how long a nation can survive when its people and leaders are ignorant. Obviously, we've made it a long time already.

Perhaps our founders' highest achievement is passing on a model that can exist and thrive despite the stupidity of its citizens.

SNL: Meet Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel

This is pretty solid:

I think I see how the new administration will be targeted. They have to continue "speaking truth to power," but there will be a clear focus on Obama's staff, not on The One himself. It's something at least.

The Advertisement CBS Won't Let You See

Of all the policies that we can expect the Democrats to try to push through during the Obama administration, very few would appear more disastrous than Card Check. Card Check, or as it is called without any apparent sense of irony, the Employee Freedom of Choice Act, would allow mob enforcers union bosses and other strong-armers to exercise power and intimidation over workers by denying them a vote by secret ballot.

So, naturally, any freedom-loving American would be dead against the passage of this act. Which, naturally, means that the Democrat Congress will try to push it through. And CBS is abetting their cause by refusing to show this ad:

Hot Air quotes the following:

“According to our media buyers, CBS officials cited the appearance of Nancy Pelosi as one of the primary reasons for the denial of the advertisement. One CBS representative felt that viewers would be “confused” by its contents within their program,” said Stephen DeMaura, President of Americans for Job Security.

The advertisement will be running on CNN, FNC, CNBC, MSNBC, and FOX.

“CBS executives obviously believe their viewers are not smart enough to recognize the difference between CBS propaganda and American free speech. There is no room on our public airwaves for the coddling of powerful politicians and the censoring of a serious public policy debate,” DeMaura added.

It isn't censorship. CBS is a business and can show or not show whatever ads it wants to. But, if you didn't already, it certainly makes you wonder what CBS' goal is. An informed public is clearly not it.

Obama's Payoff Complete, Hillary Clinton Sells Soul for Secretary of State Job

In Hillary Clinton's lust to be remembered as something other than the most cheated on First Lady ever, she has made a deal with the Devil, an odd sale of her soul where she doesn't even get to be President. I guess you have to take whatever you can get for your soul nowadays, what with the post-Obama market collapse we're going through. And what she could get was a job as Secretary of State, a job that would seem perfect for the woman who guaranteed that if the phone should ever ring at 3 in the morning, she would be there to answer it.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama has answered the call the same way he always seems to. He has thrown his rhetoric of "change" under the bus, where it lies trampled next to campaign finance, his grandmother, Reverend Wright and anything else that has stood between him and his laser-like focus on gaining power.

Barack Obama can't change the way Washington DC does business by bringing back all of the Clinton's old friends. He certainly can't do so by naming a Clinton his Secretary of State. This is not change. This is buying the next eight years. Barack Obama has ensured that he will face no Democrat opposition by buying out the only people who were a danger to him. Now he just needs to avoid becoming Jimmy Carter and he's got his eight years.

If this is the change America wanted, change back to 1992, why not just vote for Clinton instead of Obama. Oh, wait. It did.

Oh, the story:

Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation. Mr. Obama’s office told reporters Thursday that the nomination is “on track” but Clinton associates only confirmed Friday afternoon that she has decided.

“She’s ready,” said the confidant. Mrs. Clinton was reassured after talking again with Mr. Obama because their first meeting in Chicago last week “was so general,” the confidant said. The purpose of the follow-up talk, he added, was not to extract particular concessions but “just getting comfortable” with the idea of working together.

Yeah, I could see how that could be difficult. How do you get comfortable with the thought of working for the unaccomplished, smooth talking, male, affirmative action recipient who just stole the job you've been working for your whole life? I guess a life's worth of practice makes it a little bit easier every time.

Just when I had begun to respect her. No more.

Hitler on the Housing Crisis, the Economy and Government Bailouts

This parody of a popular parody accomplishes the rare feat of being both funnier and more informative than the original parody was:

H/T - Laura at Ace of Spades.

Update: This is Sad... And can Never Happen Again

Regardless of what you think about President Bush, this must never happen to an American President ever again, for the good of our country. If the lefties in America would've had their way, all the leaders would be rushing to shake his hand, knowing that they had President Bush to thank for their country being more prosperous than America is. Despite our current difficulties, that still hasn't happened.

If I had my way, these bootlickers would all be rushing to shake President Bush's hand, in the fervent desire that they avoid becoming his next choice for shit-hole country most in need of a makeover, with a Stone-Age motif.

And the CNN host can only bring himself to call this, "almost sad." As in, you know, how it was sad when Hitler died. Their glee at the weakening of the American Presidency will not be lost on everyone, believe me:

UPDATED: Reader Baldwin notes that Hot Air reported a later CNN report debunking this report by Rick Sanchez:

Bush didn’t get snubbed at all, it turns out. He had already greeted most of these leaders, including a number of photo ops that Moos includes in this report. The handshakes we see in Sanchez’ clip occurred with leaders who had not already met for a grip-and-grin before the group shot.

Hey, even Angela Merkel posed with Bush and smiled while he grabbed her hand … and only her hand. Silvio Berlusconi held Bush’s hand as they strolled off the dais. Everyone seemed cheery around Bush, even with the economy diving into a teacup this week.

I've got to stop trusting such bogus and biased sources as CNN.

Senile Blowhard Cardinal Stafford Needs to STFU

Some arguments against Barack Obama are so over-the-top that they make real arguments and policy differences less likely to be taken seriously.

This guy is not helping things:

His Eminence James Francis Cardinal Stafford criticized President-elect Barack Obama as “aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic,“ and said he campaigned on an “extremist  anti-life platform,” Thursday night in Keane Auditorium during his lecture “Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II: Being True in Body and Soul...“

“For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden,” Stafford said, comparing America’s future with Obama as president to Jesus’ agony in the garden. “On November 4, 2008, America suffered a cultural earthquake.”

Cardinal Stafford said Catholics must deal with the “hot, angry tears of betrayal” by beginning a new sentiment where one is “with Jesus, sick because of love.”

The lecture, hosted by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, pertained to Humanae Vitae, a papal encyclical written by Pope Paul VI in 1968 and celebrating its 40 anniversary this year.

I would recommend the Stafford stick to talking about things he knows something about, like the Scriptures, but clearly he's not very skilled at deciphering them either.

If he is using the word "apocalyptic" as an exaggeration, then he should know better than to use such a loaded and meaningful word so cheaply. It's not like he's talking to friends here and making an offhand comment. He's teaching young skulls full of mush. And he's dangerous.

If he's using it as I believe he is, one must wonder how he knows this. Was it revealed to him? And if so, why is he bothering to worry about the future of the country? Does he believe he can prevent the apocalypse? Good luck with that, Stafford.

Assuming this election result isn't an imminent sign of the apocalypse, which if I had to bet I would say it isn't (it's not like I'll have to pay up if I'm wrong), then he is doing even more harm. In a time where people who are concerned about an Obama presidency need to remain most hopeful and positive in the battle to defeat his policy proposals, Stafford supplies his students with images and talk of defeat.

This is no speech encouraging his students to work for positive change. This is a speech more likely to make them look around, see the economic signs, see the cultural worries that Stafford sees, and respond by bemoaning their fate and waiting for it to overtake them.

Nice job, Card. Fucking idiot.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to Head Department of Homeland Security - Welcome to Arizona's Problem, America

CNN says Janet Napolitano is Barack Obama's choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security, and my source at Capitol Hill confirms it. The Governor's office neither confirms nor denies the story.

A couple ways to look at this one. First off, it's a tremendous positive for my state of Arizona. Napolitano has helped bankrupt our local government, yet she is somehow the only electable Democrat in the state when it comes to national office. The loss of Napolitano almost guarantees that Arizona will retain its two Republican Senate seats for the near future.

However, Arizona's gain is America's loss. The new person in charge of homeland security has failed miserably to protect her own state from foreign invasion on a massive level. The fact that Obama could select someone who is perhaps America's worst offender when it comes to homeland insecurity says more about his future amnesty plans than any speech and any denial he could ever make.

I had been pleasantly surprised that Obama has been naming ex-Clintonites to top level positions. I never thought I would think, let alone say, anything like that before. But when you are expecting the worst, the merely bad brings a sigh of relief.

But the kiddie games come to an end with the selection of a Governor who not only refuses to do anything to protect her own state's border, but also fights the efforts of the one man in the state government who actually does something to uphold immigration laws, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, America's Toughest Sheriff.

A nation will soon come to know Janet Napolitano. She had been Arizona's problem, and that was problem enough. Now she is America's problem.

I'm Sorry for Thinking Al Franken was Frivolously Challenging Minnesota Ballots

What was I thinking? Who can make any sense out of this?

I mean, there's an "x," there's an "o," there appears to be a star of some kind. Sure, It's all in or surrounding the circle of Al Franken's opponent, but who can really say who this person intended to vote for?

The bubble beside Norm Coleman’s name appeared to have both an X and a squiggle in it, but the Al Franken campaign wants the state Canvassing Board to rule on whether it should count. That’s the only challenge in the special envelope in Plymouth so far, according to Sandy Engdahl, the city clerk and the official running the city recount.

Courtesy of a Star Tribune blog.

Taliban Bikers vs The A-10

Some would suggest we just bring in the Hell's Angels, but the A-10 seems to be doing a decent job of shutting down Taliban biker gangs. We really need more people in Afghanistan, Barack? Don't we just need to be doing more of this? H/T to Ace.

And they say we're in a Depressed Housing Market?

The HinzSight Report notes the recent sale of a big, white house in the D.C. area for approximately $650 million dollars.

The American people will never find out exactly how many of the estimated 3 million donors did so illegally, as it is highly unlikely that the Obama Administration will be interested in an investigation. President-elect Obama raised more money on the internet than any candidate in history. And, therein lies the rub.

You cannot buy a pair of shoes, or an hour of internet time while sitting at an internet cafe, without providing a valid credit card, the correct name on that card, a valid address associated with that card, and the correct zip code and/or security code ID off the back of that card.

And yet, each and every one of those security measures demanded by every merchant who uses the internet was disabled by the Obama Campaign on their website. If you were willing to provide a valid credit card number, you were allowed to contribute. This was an invitation to fraud. And it appears that fraud is exactly what ensued. The problem is a loophole in the Campaign Finance Reform (CFR) laws.

On October 24, the National Journal reported an experiment conducted by reporter Neil Munro. Munro purchased two $25 pre-paid American Express gift cards, and then, using a public library internet site, attempted to donate to both Presidential Campaigns. The McCain donation was refused. The Obama contribution was accepted.

Much more at the link. The author, David Hinz, is also a somewhat regular commenter here. And it's a good piece. Great title, but after seeing the name of his blog, what would you expect?

While I'm on the Subject of Minorities, what the hell are the Jews Thinking?

If ever there was going to be an election where Republicans would make a dent in the Jewish vote, you would have thought it would be this one. Nearly a month ago, I noted the good news that Jews only favored Barack Obama 2 to 1, which was a marked improvement over the typical result, which was 77-80% support for the Democrat candidate from 1992-2004. Even with this good news, I noted how illogical this was:

Suffice it to say, it seems as if Jews are not as into Louis Farrakhan's pal Barack as they usually are for other democratic solcialists. This still begs the question: Are the majority of Jews simply not paying attention to Obama's history? His statements on the Middle East?

Well, it turns out the polls underestimated Obama's support in the Jewish community. He actually finished with  the typical 77 percent. What the hell are they thinking? Don Feder of GrasstopsUSA takes this news and concludes that Republicans will never win the Jewish vote:

Back in the 1980s, during the euphoria of the Reagan-era, Neo-cons like Norman Podhoretz and Irving Kristol predicted a seismic shift in Jewish voting patterns.

Once American Jews discovered that voting Republican was crucial for the survival of the Jewish state, they’d naturally align themselves with the party that actually believes in national security, we were assured.

It never happened.

After this year’s election – in which Barack Hussein Obama got 77% of the Jewish vote – we can confidently say it never will. Once again, in 2008, most American Jews voted their religion – liberalism.

Some minorities have a clearer perception of where their interests lie. According to the American Muslim Task Force for Civil Rights and Elections, nearly 90% of Muslims voted for Obama, only 2% for McCain – smart Muslims, dumb Jews.

Much more at the link. First there are all of the red flags flying and screaming sirens sounding over Barack Obama's past and his Jew-hating friends. Then you throw in the fact that they could choose a guy like John McCain who is barely a real Republican, and the Democrat candidate still gets 77 percent?

I agree with his point that the group is voting its true religion, liberalism. Just like so many Catholics also vote their true religion, instead of the one that they put on for show every once in awhile on Sundays. It will take a whole lot of changes too numerous for me to imagine before I ever get sucked into thinking we can make inroads with either group again.

Freedom From White Guilt

I found this new Emancipation Proclamation at a new conservative blog that shows some promise: BlackNRight

It was written by the National Black Republican Association. Interestingly enough, freedom from white guilt was #6 on the list I wrote a few months back,  Top Ten Positive Effects of an Obama Victory. As I noted in that post back in June: "Now that we've taken care of our guilt with the black community, can we learn a lesson from this please? Next time we feel the need to elect a token minority to high office, can we make sure he's not a socialist first? Is that too much to ask?"

Anyways, here's the proclamation. It seems as if they agree with the totality of my comments.

We, black American citizens of the United States of America and of the National Black Republican Association, do hereby declare that our fellow white American citizens are now, henceforth and forever more free of White Guilt.

This freedom from White Guilt was duly earned by the election of Barack Hussein Obama, a black man, to be our president by a majority of white Americans based solely on the color of his skin.

Freedom is not free, and we trust that the price paid for this freedom from White Guilt is worth the sacrifice, since Obama is a socialist who does not share the values of average Americans and will use the office of the presidency to turn America into a failed socialist nation.

Granted this November 4, 2008 - the day Barack Hussein Obama was elected as the first black president and the first socialist president of the United States of America.

When you get the chance, check out the new site I linked to above.

Sarah Palin gets $7 Million Book Deal. But I thought she was a Drag on the Ticket?

At least that's what the mainstream media wants you to think. The free market seems to see things differently. Bill Dupray of the Patriot Room notes just how significant a deal this is:

Just how much could the Alaska governor make from putting pen to paper? About $7 million, according to some estimates.

Sound like a lot? Not necessarily, says one literary insider.

“Bill Clinton made more than $10 million when he signed his deal in 2001 and that was the most for a former president,” says the source. “Sarah brings something different to the table — there is so much curiosity surrounding her and her life. If they move fast and get this thing on shelves, then a $7 million advance could be worth it.”

Okay, so Bubba, after finishing 8 years as president, gets $10 million and the NYT has to go take a cold shower.

Sarah Palin was the Vice-Presidential pick on a losing ticket in The Year of The Messiah. She was derided and mocked by the left as a five brain-celled Caribou Barbie. And she gets $7 Million?

The Obots and Olbermann can hate her but the free market is betting that Sarah Palin is the Next Big Thing.

Bill has more to say at the link above. Check out his site, too, if you haven't been there much. If you read my site regularly, I'm pretty sure you'll be going there often in the future...