NEVER FORGET!!!

Before the Cock Crows You Will Deny Me Three Times...

Last week I went off on the whole GOP establishment power grab at their convention regarding rules for nominating delegates.  It may have been a move to cut off the wacky Paul-bots at the pass, but in doing so it seriously snubbed the true grassroots members and Tea Party activists.

Yesterday, the Democrats - not to be out-done - had to do their own power grab. And it was corrupt Chicago-style politics at it's best/worst.

Backstory… The Democrats removed the mention of God from their platform, and they removed the mention of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel:

Guess what? God’s name has been removed from the Democratic National Committee platform. This is the paragraph that was in the 2008 platform: 

“We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.” 

Now the words “God-given” have been removed. The paragraph has been restructured to say this: 

“We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work should pay off, responsibility should be rewarded, and each one of us should be able to go as far as our talent and drive take us.”

and

[the key line removed from the 2008 platform] Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel.

Well, word got out quickly that this had happened, and the powers that been in the upper echelons of the DNC scrambled to get the removed language back into the platform before anyone noticed [see HotAir's post for full details].  Problem is, things didn't go quite as planned.  When they took the matter up for a vote on the main stage of the convention before the delegates, this is what happened:




The look on L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa's face is priceless.  It is OBVIOUS that at least HALF of the party delegates (if not MORE than half) did NOT want the mention of God nor the mention of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel back into the party platform.  But Chicago-style thuggery politics went ahead with the face-saving changes anyway.

CNN (CNN!!!) had this:



And just in case you actually think that President Obama and his administration actually believes that Jerusalem is and should be the capital of Israel, listen to his press spokesman Jim Carney from just this past July:




Given that just a few hours later, President "Lewinsky" was about to walk up to the podium to crow aloud to the nation, I find it prophetic that in front of the whole world the Democratic party brings to fruition the biblical verse: "Before the cock crows you will deny Me three times."

Empty Chair… Empty Suit… Exactly What I thought in 2008 & 2009...

Two days ago I posted about National Empty Chair day, and said I thought this was the best pic to describe "The One":

Then I remembered what I had written about the guy on April 1, 2008:

"The Obamessiah (the Inexperienced Empty-Suit Charlatan)"

And on April 15, 2009:

Given that it's tax day today, I want to express - in 50 words or less - what I have thought and felt about the current occupant of the White House since the first day he appeared on the national scene a year and a half ago:

He's a smug, snobby, arrogant and inexperienced empty-suit charlatan with a narcissistic messiah complex who sprung from and was steeped in the notoriously and perpetually corrupt Chicago Democrat Party political machine, and who brings a militant pro-abortion culture and a radical socialist agenda that will bankrupt and destroy America.  Period.

Don't say I didn't tell yah.  Don't say I didn't warn yah.  :-/

HAH!!! It's National Empty Chair Day...

Michelle Malkin called today National Empty Chair Day.  Was so successful she had to open a second post.

Gateway Pundit has a list of some great chairs.

My favorite is this one:

And this one:

No..... THIS one... yeah, this one:

2020???… (heh!)

RYAN/RUBIO in 2020

20/20 Vision for the

21st Century!

I know I know… I'm getting waaaaaay ahead of myself. ;-)

GOP Convention: The Final Day...

FL Senator Marco Rubio:




Clint Eastwood:




Mitt Romney's presidential nomination acceptance speech:

GOP Convention: Paul Ryan and Condi Rice...

Devastating!


Former Secretary of State Condi Rice:




VP Candidate and WI Rep. Paul Ryan (Part 1):




VP Candidate and WI Rep. Paul Ryan (Part 2):




And this is why I wished it was a Ryan/Romney ticket, and not the other way around.

Meanwhile, tonight will be FL Senator Rick Rubio and a few others, plus the man himself, Mitt Romney.

GOP Convention: Day 2/3...

More videos of key speeches at the convention from the last two days:


Ann Romney:





NJ Governor Chris Christie:





NM Governor Susana Martinez:





SC Governor Nikki Haley:

Former PA Senator and GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum:

GOP Convention: Day 1/2...

UPDATED: 

I thought we were finished with this after the 2008 election… I thought we were beyond race and race baiting… I guess not.

Chris Matthews (need I say more?):



Then Yahoo bureau chief David Chalian says this on live TV on a "hot" mic (whoopsie!):

“They aren’t concerned at all. They are happy to have a party with black people drowning.” [laughter]

NOTE:

Yahoo News confirms:“David Chalian’s statement was inappropriate and does not represent the views of Yahoo!. He has been terminated effective immediately. We have already reached out to the Romney campaign, and we apologize to Mitt Romney, his staff, their supporters and anyone who was offended.”

Then there's this nugget from Obama's website regarding former Dem. Rep Artur Davis. The page has since been removed (hat-tip Gateway Pundit):

  

[L]ess than two years ago, you routinely touted your progressive record as a member of the House of Representatives. You supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Wall Street reform bill, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and ending tax subsidies for oil companies. Despite voting against the final bill, you even supported major pillars of the Affordable Care Act like banning discrimination against pre-existing conditions, expanding Medicaid, and providing tax breaks to small businesses that provide health care, to name a few.

Contrary to your recent declarations, you hailed President Barack Obama as a “beacon of leadership,” touted President Obama as your “model,” and widely described the President as a friend. As a member of the House of Representatives, you supported President Obama’s agenda 95% of the time, were quoted saying “I agree with him on everything,” and repeatedly invoked President Obama in your failed gubernatorial campaign.

It is important that the American people have these important facts and draw their own conclusions about your true motivations for speaking at the Republican National Convention. We have come to the disturbing conclusion that your recent public statements have no basis in real policy or political disagreements, but rather they stem from transparent opportunism and a personal determination to overcome failing to win the Alabama Democratic primary for Governor in 2010. We regret that you have chosen this course, but are confident that the American people see your pronouncements for what they are and come to the same disappointing conclusion of your former colleagues.

Artur Davis responds here:



His speech at the GOP Convention last night here:




L.A. Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa then said this:

"You can't just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect a vote for your party or your candidate."

Un-be-liev-ab-le.


GOP congressional candidate and former mayor Mia Love speaks at the convention as well:



TeaParty fav and GOP Senatorial Candidate Ted Cruz of Texas speaks:



Funny… MSNBC didn't broadcast any of the minority speakers. (No surprise here.)

And while we're here… OH Gov. John Kasich:

GOP Convention Powergrab???...

UPDATED  TWICE (see below)

Is Romney purposely trying to pi** off the grassroots/tea party with this blatant powergrab?  Is he purposely trying to lose this election?

*grrrrrrrr*

The upshot is this (via Michelle Malkin):

For the first time in years you’re likely to see a real floor fight tomorrow over proposed changes to the party rules. The rules committee produced a proposal which takes away the autonomy of state parties and massively increases the power of the central committee and the states are fighting back with a minority report and a wave of protest which is sweeping through the party rank and file. This confrontation transcends ideological lines and is about whether the Republican Party will remain a party run by its members or merely become a tool of special interests...

… the ramifications for grassroots activist and state GOP’s are vast. This rule change would allow a candidate to select his or her own delegates, essentially the nominee would get to choose those who nominate him instead of the states. This proposed rule change is starting to sound more like an Obama executive order.

Tom Washington, who is speaking on his own accord but serves as the Assistant Treasurer for the Republican Party of Texas, told us, “If Romney, or any other candidate can select their own delegates the entire convention process will have been hijacked and eliminate the grassroots influence.”

Redstate continues:

… the Republican National Committee, led by Team Romney, is moving to shut down conservative grassroots activists… The first rule to be proposed is one that would give the Republican National Committee the power to change rules between conventions with a three-quarters vote of the RNC. One source tells me, “With a Republican President, of course this is doable. Everybody will roll over if a President Romney asks them too. They’ll be able to get Ben Ginsberg’s proposal next year.” 

In other words, if Team Romney prevails in this rules change, they don’t have to worry about Ben Ginsberg not getting his way today on the delegate changes. They’ll be able to do it later when the press and grassroots are not watching...

The second rules change would front load winner takes all primaries. Grassroots conservaives point to both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum as reasons to stop this rule. Had there been front loaded winner takes all primaries, neither the Gingrich nor the Santorum campaigns would have been able to get any traction.

Freedom Works continues:

… just got off the phone with a concerned Florida activist, Laura Noble, who informed me that both of Florida’s Rules Committee members, Peter Feaman and Kathleen King, have been removed from the Rules committee and replaced with Romney-appointed delegates.

Clearly anticipating a grassroots backlash against the “compromise” on Rule 15 and the changes on Rule 12 has caused the Romney camp to preemptively replace delegates to ensure they have support on the Rules Committee.

It’s enough to make your blood boil.

Read it all here and here.


AFTERMATH UPDATE from Michelle Malkin here.

Footprints… Treadmarks...

(Hat-tip to Ironic Catholic)

Jobs & Econ 101 - Going Stag (as in Stagflation)...

In May, it was reported that factory orders declined to their lowest level in three years:

New orders for U.S. factory goods in March recorded their biggest decline in three years as demand for transportation equipment and a range of other goods slumped, government data showed on Wednesday. The Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods dropped 1.5 percent after a revised 1.1 percent rise in February.

In June, the jobs report looked ugly:

Job openings fell to a five-month low in April and showed their sharpest percentage decline in about seven and a half years, according to a government report Tuesday that helped confirm a slowdown in the labor market. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, indicated 3.4 million job openings at the end of April, an 8 percent decline from the previous month. The pace of total hiring also slowed, with 160,000 fewer jobs filled during the month. Moreover, the drop showed weakness across the employment spectrum, with manufacturing seeing 62,000 fewer job openings and construction dropping by 2,000...

The numbers come just two weeks after the government reported a paltry 69,000 new jobs created in May and sharp downward revisions to the previous two months, while the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent. Leisure and hospitality, which had been leading job growth, saw 3,000 fewer openings, while government job openings fell 42,000 amid belt-tightening particularly at the state and local levels. 

CNBC then had this to say:

Uncertainty about U.S. fiscal policy, Europe’s sovereign crisis and slower global growth have turned the U.S. economy into what feels like a slow-moving zombie, leaving businesses and consumers hesitant and reluctant to act... 

“The U.S. economy has been unable to achieve escape velocity but the amount of monetary and fiscal stimulus in the system has proven adequate enough to keep it going at a 1-2 percent GDP pace. That is slow by historic recovery standards…it feels like a 'zomb'-economy,” said Ian Lyngen.

“People are increasingly worried about a double dip,” he said.

“It feels like it’s sleepwalking,” Moody’s Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi said of the economy. "We’re walking but not going anywhere fast. I don’t think we’re dead like a zombie. There is some life underneath, but we are sleepwalking. The reality is people are so nervous and shell shocked, it doesn’t take much to get them to stop what they’re doing.”

By early July, the jobs reports got worse:

The jobs report for June shows another gloomy month in the US economy.  Job growth amounted to a disappointing 80,000, below analyst expectations of 90-100K, while the jobless rate remained the same at 8.2%:

This is only a bare improvement over last month’s report, with its addition of 77,000, an upward revision from the report a month ago, which had May at 69,000. The average monthly job growth has been 75,000 over the last three months — when we need 125K-150K to keep up with population growth. It’s a measure that shows us going backwards … again.The bad news gets even worse when looking at combined unemployment and underemployment, as measured by U-6.  That measure had dropped to a years-long low in March and April of 14.5%, but now has ticked upward two months in a row, and is back to 14.9%.  Joblessness among African-Americans jumped by 184,000 and the rate shot up from 13.6% to 14.4%, the highest it has been since December 2011.

Ed at HotAir added these updates to his post:

Update II: This is a good time to remind people of the implications of Barack Obama’s immigration policy change this month.  The pledge to issue work permits means that we may potentially add 1.2 million workers to the workforce over the next two years.  That means we will have to add jobs at a rate closer to 200,000 per month just to keep up with population growth and the policy change.Update III: The AP article also reports that one-third of the job gain came from temp hires.  That may or may not be a bad thing; temp hires usually presage some expansion, but that’s something you want to see more toward the beginning of a recovery than three years into it.  At this stage, and with these low overall numbers, it looks a lot more like bet-hedging.

Unemployment of the younger citizens shoots up to 16.8%:

...if all the young people who’ve already given up looking for jobs are included — the 1.7 million people aged 18-29 who’ve been out of work for more than a year — the latest 8.2% unemployment figure would be closer to 16.8% for that age group, Conway says. That’s the highest unemployment rate for that age group since World War II. “Their story is one of few opportunities, delayed dreams, and stalled careers,” he says.

Three reasons why jobs are hard to come by:

Opportunities. There are too many uncertainties hanging over businesses for them to make any significant moves in the next five months. Most reports indicate companies are flush with cash, but the lack of clarity with health care reform and the presidential election is making them too scared to spend and increase their payroll.

Incentives. Although people did start re-entering the workforce in May, the labor participation rate is sitting near a 30-year low. Some argue continued unemployment benefits are becoming a crutch for job seekers, but soon the aid will disappear as both federal and state benefits expire for some individuals.

Mindset. I frequently receive e-mails from job seekers complaining about the lack of job opportunities. They get frustrated because they don’t hear back from companies after submitting resumes, and they feel jobs aren’t being fairly advertised or posted.

We have entered an era where careers can no longer be pursued, they must be created. In order to get out of this labor market downturn, we have to rekindle the spirit of American entrepreneurialism. We have created a bailout mentality where people now expect the government to step in and fix any problems.

Since 2009, more people have been put on disability than have found jobs:

Barack Obama put 3.1 million Americans on disability since June 2009. Obama only created 2.6 million jobs in the same period.

Four reasons why the economy has stalled:

1. Good News Isn't Good EnoughThe American economy is not without its bright spots. Housing is improving, energy prices are dropping and factory orders are surging. But those trends have been offset by weakening consumer confidence and manufacturing, as well as the realization that one of the reasons energy prices are falling is because the world economy is weakening and sapping demand from big industrial consumers like China.
In all, the housing market, considered by some to be the final lynchpin to economic recovery, is far from escape velocity and its improvements are not enough to lift the broader economy...

2. Too Many Unknown UnknownsWhile hugely controversial, the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding President Obama's health insurance reform — Obamacare — helped clear one area of uncertainty, with businesses and individuals now knowing that a new tax is coming. And while the markets have had plenty of time to price in the known unknowns of the debt crisis in Europe, there still remain a plethora of unknown unknowns about tax and regulatory structure, China's growth slowdown and central bank activity...

3. Central BanksThough it seems that every weak economic sign or stock market downturn brings calls for more central bank easing across the world, people have begun wondering how effective these measures really are. After all, with interest rates in the U.S. near zero and other global central banks getting there as well, how much lower can you go, and how much more can it help?… Fed critic Michael Pento at Pento Portfolio Strategies said the U.S. central bank ought to get out of the way and let rates normalize, though he doubts it will happen. "There is nothing that can be benefited economically from lowering rates from here on," he said. "The only thing you will do is levitate asset prices and send commodity prices soaring. That is not the prescription for what ails this economy."...

4. Wall Street May Be Self-Destructing AgainA trader for JPMorgan Chase loses billions with a risky bet. Regulators are engaged in an ever-expanding probe regarding interest rate manipulations by banks. A steady stream of investment scams is getting exposed.  Investors have seen this movie before, and it doesn't end happily.

UPDATE:

Captain Ed at HotAir just posted this bit of info after the newest weekly jobs report came out today:

This week’s report puts the measure back on the same track it has held most of the year, rising 34,000 to jump back up to 386,000 — which includes the now-indispensable upward revision of 2,000… 

July has unique issues for this metric, with automaker furloughs more the norm than the exception, as well as the reporting difficulties over one of the truly national holidays in the year.  Skip last week’s result and we end up with a remarkably stable series: 386K, 374K, 388K, 392K, 389K  for the last five weeks apart from the holiday week report.  That would average out to 386K — which is exactly what we have today, at least until next week shows an upward revision in this number.

*sigh*

Eight Years Ago Today...

I can't believe it was eight years ago today that I started this blog.

I may not be as active here as I was in the past, but it's still going...
over 960 posts later.

Saw this floating around Facebook...

Follow-ups to the ObamaCare Fallout...

Apparently, inside sources suggest that Roberts was compromised.

Some think that it was for political reasons.

It appears that the first 3/4 of the dissent opinion was also written by Roberts. (???)

Liberals fear a Roberts backlash in future conservative rulings.

Moe at RedState, Captain Ed at HotAir, and Stephen Hayes at the Weekly Standard all point to the fact that it is indeed a TAX (despite what Romney's crank spokesman tries to say).

Which lead to Joel Pollak at Breitbart to say this:

The Obama campaign has seized on remarks made by Romney adviser Eric "Etch-A-Sketch" Fehrnstrom this morning on MSNBC, to the effect that the individual mandate in Obamacare (and Romneycare) is not a tax. Fehrnstrom allowed Chuck Todd to push him off message--and re-ignited the fears that conservatives have long had about Romney's will and ability to fight. In response, conservatives--who had just coalesced around opposition to what many now call "Obamatax"--exhort: Mitt, start fighting, or give up and let someone else do it.

Fehrnstrom's point--in defense of Romneycare--was that the Supreme Court was wrong to uphold Obamacare under the taxing power. The individual mandate was never intended to be a tax, Congress never called it a tax, and it wasn't a tax in Massachusetts, either. Fine--but now that Obama's lawyers went to court and called it a tax, and Chief Justice John Roberts called it a tax (and spare us the non-distinction between "tax" and the "taxing power") Obamacare is, undeniably, a massive tax on the middle class. Obama lied. It's that simple.

The GOP primary is over, and this is not a mistake that Fehrnstrom can merely shake away. It's going to be used--and already is being used--by the Obama campaign to save itself from the tax argument, and to label Romney as a liar (when that label belongs squarely on Obama, who campaigned against Hillary Clinton's individual mandate in 2008). Perhaps this is why Rupert Murdoch has been calling openly for Romney to "drop...old friends from [his] team and hire...some real pros," as he did on Twitter yesterday.

The Tea Party has been ready to rally to Romney's side over the Obamacare decision, overlooking his past in order to use him as the vehicle for repealing Obamacare and toppling Obama. But if Romney won't fight for conservative principles, the Tea Party is going to start looking elsewhere--fast. No one wants to live through the frustration of October 2008 all over again. No one wants to watch another conservative capitulate to Obama. 

This ain't Etch-A-Sketch, Mitt. Go hard or go home.

Romney was quick to respond, saying that:

"Well, the Supreme Court has the final word and their final word is that Obamacare is a tax. So it's a tax. They decided it was constitutional. So it is a tax and it's constitutional.... the chief justice in his opinion made it very clear that at the state level, states have the power to put in place mandates. They don't need to require them to be called taxes in order for them to be constitutional. And as a result, Massachusetts' mandate was a mandate, was a penalty, was described that way by the legislature and by me, and so it stays as it was...The chief justice said that states have what's known as police power, and states can implement penalties and mandates and so forth under their constitutions, which is what Massachusetts did. But the federal government does not have those powers, and therefore for the Supreme Court to reach the conclusion it did - that the law was constitutional - they had to find it was a tax, and they did. And therefore Obamacare's a tax. Like it or not, it's a tax."

75% of this tax falls on those households making under $120,000.

Here is a list of 20 of these new taxes on NewsMax.  Some of these new taxes:

Codification of the “economic substance doctrine” (Tax hike of $4.5 billion). This provision allows the IRS to disallow completely-legal tax deductions and other legal tax-minimizing plans just because the IRS deems that the action lacks “substance” and is merely intended to reduce taxes owed. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 108-113.
Tax on Indoor Tanning Services ($2.7 billion/July 1, 2010): New 10 percent excise tax on Americans using indoor tanning salons. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,397-2,399.
“Black liquor” tax hike (Tax hike of $23.6 billion). This is a tax increase on a type of bio-fuel. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 105.
HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike ($1.4 bil/Jan 2011): Increases additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,959.
Tax on Medical Device Manufacturers ($20 bil/Jan 2013): Medical device manufacturers employ 360,000 people in 6000 plants across the country. This law imposes a new 2.3% excise tax. Exempts items retailing for <$100. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,980-1,986
Flexible Spending Account Cap – aka “Special Needs Kids Tax” ($13 bil/Jan 2013): Imposes cap on FSAs of $2500 (now unlimited). Indexed to inflation after 2013. There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,388-2,389
Employer Mandate Tax (Jan 2014): If an employer does not offer health coverage, and at least one employee qualifies for a health tax credit, the employer must pay an additional non-deductible tax of $2000 for all full-time employees. Applies to all employers with 50 or more employees. If any employee actually receives coverage through the exchange, the penalty on the employer for that employee rises to $3000. If the employer requires a waiting period to enroll in coverage of 30-60 days, there is a $400 tax per employee ($600 if the period is 60 days or longer).Bill: PPACA; Page: 345-346

Lawyers have already written 13,000 pages of new regulations... and they're not finished yet!
As Daniel Horowitz at RedState says, we need to defund ObamaCare NOW.

And we should be able to do it via reconciliation.

So now you know why likely voters in a Newsweek/Daily Beast poll find Obama even WORSE than Carter.

Making Sense of the SCOTUS Ruling on ObamaCare...

NOTE: It is well worth your time to read through all of the linked stories and analyses.

So, Chief Justice Roberts says that it's not a penalty, and it's not valid under the commerce clause, but it IS a tax.

Gee, what did Obama say about whether it was a tax or not??? (via Gateway Pundit, from an ABC News interview):



Ace went nuts:

It wasn't a tax for purposes of getting it passed politically, also wasn't a tax for purposes of delaying judgment based on the Anti-Injunction Act, but then magically became a tax in order to be upheld.

If the government now has the power under the taxing power to enforce its preferences regarding how citizens live their lives, Ed Morrissey proposes, modestly, a new tax on those who refuse to buy a gun.

Allah considered a similar question yesterday: Whether the government could put a punitive tax on you for owning a gun. Gun ownership is a right, he thought, so the ObamaTax logic wouldn't fully apply. You can't burden a right.

Well, owning a gun is a right, but not owning a gun is not a right. Or at least it's no more of a right than not owning insurance. 

We can pass a great many laws like this, enforcing our preferences in any area that isn't an explicit (or penumbra-ish) right under the Constitution. 

Don't go to Church regularly? Why, we can tax that. And before you say it's your right not to go to church -- of course it is, but we can compel all Americans to spend at least two hours each week on philosophical contemplation, whether it be at church or in Quiet Home Study of non-religious philosophical texts. 

If a temporary majority in Congress thinks it's a good idea -- tax away! 

The Constitution apparently gives the government the right to dictate almost all of our personal choices, so long as it enforces these preferences via punitive taxes. So let's get started.

Major fraud is being charged by one of the leading attorneys who argued the case in front of the Supreme Court.  This same attorney, Michael Carvin, had this other analysis that Ace posted on March 30.

Erick at RedState is seeing the decision from a different angle.

Thomas Crowne at RedState has a different opinion, and is not happy with Chief Justice Roberts.

Slate headlines that Obama may have won the battle, but Roberts won the war. because it guts the commerce clause and prevents the penalties on states that opt out of the MedicAid expansion.

Real Clear Politics also has a lengthy analysis on what they term "The Roberts Gambit".

Erick at RedState posted 24 hours later and points out the fact that the sleeping giant (The Tea Party) has been rudely awakened, and will make it's collective voice heard come November.

The US Catholic Church is NOT happy with the decision as it stands right now.  The HHS mandate has already riled them up.

For those who compare the ObamaCare mandate to auto insurance and fire insurance, there's this response.

On March 23, I posted this analysis about that same point:

[F]irst of all, it's the states that mandate auto coverage, not the federal government. Second, you are required to only have coverage for others and their property if you are at fault in an accident. You are not required to have coverage on yourself. And you are only required to have coverage on your own vehicle if you are still making car payments, and don't own the car outright (it's a required coverage not by the state but buy the financier of the vehicle to protect against any potential loss).
The same with home owner's insurance. You are only required to buy it if you still have a mortgage to pay (it's, again, a requirement of the bank to protect against a potential loss). If you own your home outright, you're free to not have HOI.

The Republican Party just got energized.  So did the Romney campaign.  So much so that in just 24 hours they've raised over $4.6 million from 47,000 donors.

Santelli chimes in.

So does Bachmann, who states that they only need 51 votes in the Senate to repeal ObamaCare, not 60.

The Republicans plan to bring up a repeal vote on July 11 to get set the record on who and who is not for the continuation of ObamaCare, and to set the stage for the November elections.

And LA Governor Bobby Jindal vows to never implement ObamaCare in his state.  (I reeeeally like him as a VP choice).

It's been a crazy 24 hours.

UPDATE:

The RNC already has up another new ad:



The AFP also has a new ad:



The Daily Caller tries to read the tea leaves of Roberts' decision.

Justice Thomas had this to add in his dissent.

And Ace of Spades continues along the reasoning that, yes, this can be voted down with a simple majority vote in the Senate as a reconciliation...because it was a tax bill. (hehehe)

Ray Bradbury Forever Alive at 91...

One of my all-time favorite authors, Ray Bradbury, passed away yesterday at the age of 91.

A couple wonderful articles on his passing here and here, and an interesting article from two years ago here.




Below are re-posts from my blog in 2007 on Ray Bradbury:

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Happy Birthday to Ray Bradbury (87)

Yes, it's Ray Bradbury's 87th birthday today. One of my all-time favorite writers. Back when I was 12 or so my brother, Ray (yes, I have a brother named Ray), gave me his worn paperback copy of The Martian Chronicles. I was immediately rocketed into space by this master of the metaphor. I've read that book countless times, and have since devoured many of his other tomes, including his period-piece detective/suspense thriller, "Death Is A Lonely Business" (another favorite of mine).

I'd highly recommend any (if not all) of the following classic titles:

The Novels:
The Martian Chronicles

Fahrenheit 451

Death Is a Lonely Business


The Short Story Collections:
The Illustrated Man

Bradbury Classic Stories 1 (which includes R is for Rocket and Golden Apples of the Sun)

Bradbury Classic Stories 2 (which includes S is for Space and Medicine For Melancholy)

The Toynbee Convector



On the Process of Writing:
Zen In The Art Of Writing



The Sam Weller Biography:
The Ray Bradbury Chronicles


So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RAY... from one "crazy" to another!

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The Illustrated Man - stage play (review)

This past Sunday evening I attended the final performance of the one-man stage production of Ray Bradbury’s “The Illustrated Man”. It was another fine production by the Rubicon Theater Company at the now-famous Laurel Theater in Ventura. Tobias Andersen (veteran actor of TV and regional theater) gave a stunning two-act performance that lasted nearly two hours.

The play is loosely based on the concept of Bradbury’s famous novel, “The Illustrated Man” which centers around a wandering soul of a man with intricately designed full-body tattoos that eerily come to life and tell their tales. The stories used for the play were, instead, taken from other Bradbury short stories and novels.

From hilarious little stories about “The Murderer” (a man who confesses to killing off all the technological gadgets in his home), “There Was An Old Woman” (who is visited by the grim reaper who calls for her soul, though she’s determined to put up a fight), and the “Anthem Sprinters” (about a bunch of Irishmen who make a competition of racing out of movie theaters before their dreaded national anthem begins to play), to poignant stories such as “The Chicken Ranch Motel” (loosely based on Bradbury’s childhood memories of his family driving across the country during the Great Depression).

One story (“The Fog Horn”) was the lone weak segment of the performance. A story about an ancient sea monster who comes out of the ocean when it begins to hear the plaintive cry of a fog horn, thinking that it is another sea monster calling out in loneliness. As a short story it’s a wonderful piece of writing, but it didn’t translate well on the stage.

Easily the most powerful stories were two segments from Bradbury’s famous novel, “Fahrenheit 451” (the cautionary tale of censorship… or, more accurately, self-censorship). Andersen gave a rousing performance as the words just poured out of his mouth like a flood of truth. Absolutely stunning.

Ray Bradbury (87) was in attendance, and the audience give him a much-deserved round of applause when he entered the theater. Seated in his wheelchair in the front row, one could tell by his reaction to the production that he was thrilled to hear his own words tumble forth from the stage.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet him a few times in the mid- to late-90s, and I’ve always loved his writing. Sam Weller’s biography "The Bradbury Chronicles" is a wonderful read and a unique peek into the life of this most prolific writer. And, of course, read lots and lots of Bradbury!

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I'm Back... Kinda Sorta...

Took a break from blogging to concentrate on the ending stages of house buying.  Finally became official on May 15, with a mad rush to move by the the 19th.  The wife & I may be physically achy, but we and our three dogs are settling in nicely.

I must say this.  From our personal experience here in southern California - from our initial searches on our own last summer, through our official searches via an awesome real estate agent, the ridiculously poor conditions of most of the houses we saw, the long, frustrating, bureaucratic nonsense of the process, the hoops required to jump through from the banks on both sides of the table, the vast number of short sales, foreclosures, and REOs still choking the market, and the idiocy, incompetence, arrogance and laziness of the selling agents still in the business - this housing mess has a LOOOOOONG way to go before it gets back to normal (pre-1998, before this whole sordid mess started, normal).

I'll be back in the near future with regular posting.  For now, more ibuprofen, arnica, rest, and unpacking.

:-)

SANTORUM SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN...

More here.

Nearing The End?...

Fascinating that even this late in the primary season the Not-Romney vote total wins in the Midwest/Rustbelt states (WI yesterday, MI, IL, and OH previously). These losses, especially yesterday's in Wisconsin, hurt Santorum's chances. It may be almost over.

The good thing, though, is that states favorable to Santorum which have yet to vote are:

Pennsylvania (4/24 - but if he loses this one it's all over, and expect Romney to try for the knockout punch here because NY, DE, CT & RI also vote that same day).

North Carolina, Indiana & West Virginia (5/8)

Arkansas & Kentucky (5/22)

Texas (5/29)

South Dakota (6/5)

California, New Mexico & New Jersey also vote on 6/5.

Nebraska & Montana are after that, with Utah ending it all.

Look at this map which shows all the counties who've voted up to this point:

All that Green in the middle (the vast South, Midwest, and Rustbelt regions) is Santorum.

The Purple (mainly in Georgia, South Carolina and the Florida panhandle) is Gingrich.

Yellow is Ron Paul (predictable tiny areas of Maine & New Hampshire, northern Idaho and parts of Wyoming, Washington state, Las Vegas area of Nevada, the Iowa caucus, and anti-Romney votes in Virginia).

Only the Orange is Romney (note that Virginia was an election with only Romney and Ron Paul on the ballot, and Ron Paul got 40% of the vote... 40%!!!... for Ron Friggin' Paul).

I wouldn't mind at all that this go to the convention with the likes of Santorum, Perry, Jindal, etc. winning the nomination by getting the majority of the delegate votes. Remember, these delegates at the convention tend to be more conservative.

April 24 is the big day. If Rick loses PA, it's over. If he wins his home state, then he stays in the race and May can end up helping him to further slow down "Mr. Inevitable".

We all now thumb-twiddle for three weeks..............