Tips to Avoid Flu on Halloween

Trick-or-Treat!

These tips on how to stay healthy this Halloween come from KCRA, Sacramento:

Doctors are warning people of all ages, especially parents, to be aware of the scary truth about Halloween and H1N1 when they go to parties or trick or treating.

Dr. Peaslee Dumont said keeping a child from getting sick means following some simple guidelines.

"It's not so important to kill the germs -- it's to wash them away," said Dumont, who works in Vacaville, where a first-grader died last week apparently from H1N1.

That's exactly what Kat Byers plans to do with her 2-year-old daughter, Jessica.

"Keep sanitizer on us, make sure she washes her hands at all times," Byers said.

Other parents, like Marina Stitzel, have similar plans.

"I don't think you can be careful enough," Stitzel said.

Stitzel's son, Stephano, is 3years old, and he knows exactly what he wants to be this Halloween.

"Spiders," Stephano said.

So Stitzel is going trick-or-treating with some goodies of her own.

"We have the baby wipes and hand wipes with us were constantly cleaning his hands," Stitzel said.

Dr. Dumont said washing your hands and being a bit more vigilant than normal is the trick.

"Anyone who is sick, is coughing or sneezing, should stay home, even though it's Halloween," Dumont said.

He said those who are sick or live in a home where someone is ill should also avoid handing out candy.

Some doctors also recommend that people use a scoop rather than their hands when giving out candy.

Doctors also urge shoppers not to try on costumes in stores. They recommend that buyers buy a costume that comes wrapped in plastic, and to wash a mask before wearing it.

A scoop?

I will not be handing out wrapped candy with a scoop. That's too awkward.

I think I'll wear medical exam gloves.

Good grief.

Instead of getting razor blades in apples (Does anyone give out apples anymore?), people can fear getting the dreaded H1N1 virus.

If you're sick, you shouldn't go trick-or-treating or go to a party. If you're sick, you shouldn't be giving out candy.

Same as every other year.

I think it's time to get a grip.
_____________________

Video.

Bill O'Reilly, The View, Halloween (Video)

UPDATE, October 14, 2010: Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar storm off the set after Bill O'Reilly says that the 9/11 terrorists were Muslims.

Video.
________________

From Breitbart: ‘Count O’Reilly’ Joins ‘The View’ to Talk About Obama’s War on Fox

Irene Vilar: 15 Abortions in 15 Years

Irene Vilar is telling her story, Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict.

From the Washington Post:

The two little impossibilities want Mami's attention.

Loretta, a self-assured and quietly focused 5-year-old, hides squiggly line drawings under the furniture at a relative's home in Alexandria. Lolita, a high-spirited 3-year-old, sways to Beethoven's "Für Elise."

Mami scoops up both daughters. They tumble into the soft embrace of the couch, all squeals and nuzzles and squirmy delight. The girls start wriggling loose, and Mami pulls them back. One more hug. For an instant, it's as if releasing them would somehow make them disappear, would confirm their utter impossibility.

That Irene Vilar embraces the role of motherhood is a grand incongruity, a mind-blower. She has just published a precariously nuanced, intellectually ambitious and unnervingly frank memoir titled "Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict." In the book, Vilar writes about a "shameful" period in her life -- before she became a mother -- when she says she underwent 15 abortions in 15 years.

...The almost unimaginable claim -- vetted by her publisher's attorneys, who say they have been able to confirm all but two procedures done in now-defunct clinics -- places Vilar at the outer extreme of the phenomenon of multiple abortions. It has also made her a sudden target of blogospheric vitriol and disapproval.

Yet, in Vilar's deft hands, her story of serial abortions mostly bypasses the volatile abortion rights standoff, instead plumbing her "self-mutilation," her "pregnancy fantasies" and multiple suicide attempts, her conflicts over submission and control, and, ultimately, her healing. She wants to steer readers to a subtler point: that abortion was, for her, an addiction, a warped and tragic vehicle to assert control over her life.

Vilar's serial abortions were really just a "vehicle to assert control over her life"?

She seems to be forgetting that her "vehicle" had the consequence of asserting control over the lives of 15 others. She exerted control over their lives when she chose to end them. She didn't permit them to be born.

What's so jarring about this write-up is the way Manuel Roig-Franzia romanticizes motherhood, describing what a wonderful parent Vilar is.

"One more hug. For an instant, it's as if releasing them would somehow make them disappear, would confirm their utter impossibility."

Are we really supposed to be impressed because she loves her daughters?

Vilar wants to take the morality out of her actions and medicalize what she chose to do. She was an addict, a victim of a disorder.

I have trouble with the application of "addict" in this case because the language of addiction provides an out, a way to shift responsibility for one's actions on to a pathological condition rather than being held personally accountable.

Vilar's addiction was serial killing. She became pregnant 15 times and ended those 15 lives.

Of course, that admission to sell books would make her a "sudden target of blogospheric vitriol and disapproval." What did she expect?

I don't condone spewing vitriol and rage on blogs, but the disapproval certainly seems warranted.

What does she want? Approval? Indifference?

As a human being, I am repulsed by her behavior, such disregard for the sanctity of life.

The Post article details her relationships, marriage, and affairs in a very matter-of-fact manner, as if such promiscuity and recklessness is a reasonable way to live.

...Finally, in 2003, Vilar begins to bring order to her life. She meets another writer at a conference in Vermont. Within months, they marry and settle in Colorado. He is a father of two, and he wants more children. Amazingly, despite the abuse Vilar says she has inflicted on her body, an exam shows that her cervix is healthy. She can conceive, and for the first time, she sees the pregnancy through. Loretta arrives six weeks early. Vilar writes that, to comprehend it all, she had to sit and rock the infant "until I understood she was born."

"UNDERSTOOD SHE WAS BORN"?

...As reflective as she is, Vilar says she doesn't dwell on what might have become of the fetuses she aborted or the lives each could have led. Only twice, she says, did the little possibilities inside her seem more tangible to her; those abortions took place 16 and 17 weeks after conception. "With one, I felt movement" inside her, she says matter-of-factly. "With the other, I almost died."

Indeed, Vilar says if abortion were illegal, she would probably be dead now, because she would have resorted to unsafe, unsanctioned abortionists or perished after a self-induced puncture. (Did she consider finding adoptive parents as a way out? "Many times," she says.)

She's unabashedly supportive of abortion rights, but says her addiction to the cycle of pregnancy and abortion meant that she wasn't really choosing to end her pregnancies. "In a pathology, you don't have choice," she says. "I come from a culture that cultivates mixed messages," she says, quiet for a moment on the couch in Alexandria. Then she softly starts to sing.

"Te amo muchisimo/Por tu bien te digo, 'Adiós.' " -- I love you very much. For your own good, I say goodbye.

"You see?" she says. "Mixed messages, even in our songs."

She says children are the great joys of her life now. She bought supplies for two full Montessori classrooms, and used them to convert a large portion of their house into learning spaces to home-school her daughters. "I just so much enjoy being with them," she says. "Very shortly, they'll be grown up."

Vilar says she is working on a book about motherhood, and she would like to have one more child. She feels the tug.

Vilar is using addiction as an excuse.

"[H]er addiction to the cycle of pregnancy and abortion meant that she wasn't really choosing to end her pregnancies."

What? I don't buy that. She chose to abort her 15 children.

Being addicted doesn't mean one loses free will. Overcoming an addiction IS a choice. She chose to end her addiction. She has two daughters as proof of that.

I don't know why Vilar went public with this, other than the attention and potential financial profit it would bring her.

She's sort of a reverse Octomom.

Does Vilar have a conscience? I really can't grasp her lack of guilt and her willingness to exploit the deaths of her 15 children.

When she hugs her daughters, when she feels "the tug" to give birth to another child, doesn't she ache for the 15 she killed and never hugged?

The reality is Vilar is enjoying her 15 minutes of fame. The price? The lives of 15 innocents.

What's so sad is that Vilar isn't mourning the many lives she ended. I guess she's too busy working on her book about motherhood.

H.R. 3962

The House health care bill is here, all 1,990 pages of it -- H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Read it here.

The Heritage Foundation provides the bottom line:

Almost everybody will pay more, and a new appointed bureaucrat will make your health care choices for you.

Leno: Favre - 'NFL Team Loyalty for Sale'

Jay Leno is still tapping Brett Favre as a punch line.

I think Leno has made dramatically more jokes at Favre's expense than he has about Obama. Favre definitely makes for an easy target. (Of course, Obama's an easy target, too.)

On Thursday's show, Leno did a bit called "Stuff We Found on eBay."

Here's the premise:

Leno and staff compile a group of actual items listed on eBay. None are made up. The audience is asked to yell out if the product was sold or not sold.

JAY LENO: This next one is very, very odd, but it's real.

"My NFL Team Loyalty For Sale" -- The Washington Redskins, this Washington Redskins fan is so fed up with his team he's selling his NFL team loyalty. He will root for whatever team you want. He will also buy team merchandise, watch the games on DIRECTV, will send you a picture of himself watching the game on TV.



Oh, here's the sad part: It's Brett Favre.

All right. Starting bid was $100.

(Audience shouts out 'Not sold' and 'Sold.')

Not sold? OK, here is a classic example of there is way too much money still in America. Let's take a look.



It sold for $10,100. Somebody bought that for $10,000... I don't know. I don't understand. I would rather have the stupid bullfrog.

Catholics Bishops: Mobilizing Catholics to Oppose Abortion in Health Care Reform

ABORTION IS NOT HEALTH CARE.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is sending out a message to ALL Catholic parishes in the United States.

From Catholic Online:

An E-mail directive has been sent from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Pro-Life Activities Secretariat mobilizing every parish in the United States of America. It contains an urgent message which is to be distributed in every parish this weekend and announced at every single Mass. This massive and urgent appeal may be unprecedented in our history as Catholics in America. It is an effort to mobilize the Catholic faithful on an urgent matter of public policy concerning the fundamental and foundational human right to life.

The E-Mail specifically asks that no parish opt out of this initiative.

We present the E-Mail below for our readers around the globe. This important story was first broken by Tom Peters whose work on his web log "American Papist: Not Your Average Catholic" is one of the finest sources for important Catholic news available. http://americanpapist.com/blog.html We thank Tom for his important work on this matter.

We urge that focused prayer be offered for our Bishops in their leadership on this vital effort. We urge all of our readers in the United States to participate fully in the effort:

From: Tom Grenchik, Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities
To: Diocesan Pro-Life Directors & State Catholic Conference Director

Re: URGENT: Nationwide USCCB Bulletin Insert on Health Care Reform

Attached [see below], please find an Urgent Memorandum highlighting USCCB plans and requests for diocesan and parish based activation on health care reform.

The President of the Conference and the Chairmen of the three major USCCB committees engaged in health care reform have written all the bishops and asked that the attached USCCB Nationwide Bulletin Insert on health care reform be printed or hand-stuffed in every parish bulletin and/or distributed in pews or at church entrances as soon as possible.

Congressional votes may take place as soon as early November. If your Arch/bishop is not in agreement with disseminating the bulletin insert, you will be hearing from his office immediately. You may wish to check with his office ASAP to see how you may be of assistance in distributing the Bulletin Insert, far and wide.

Tomorrow, the USCCB will be e-mailing these same materials to a large number of parishes across the country, already on a USCCB contact list. The parish list is incomplete, so we will still have to rely on diocesan e-mail systems to reach EVERY parish. Thank you for your great help with this.

Also included are suggested Pulpit Announcements and a Prayer Petition.

There is also a copy of a newly-released ad for the Catholic press, which may be printed as flyers for the vestibule or copied on the flip-side of the Bulletin Insert. The flyer/ad directs readers to www.usccb.org/action where they may send their pre-written e-mails to Congress through NCHLA’s Grassroots Action Center. If you wish to sponsor the ad in your local Catholic paper and need a different size, please contact Deirdre McQuade at dmcquade@usccb.org.

Please encourage parishioners to pray for this effort as well. More information can be found at www.usccb.org/healthcare.

Thank you for your urgent actions and prayers on behalf of this nationwide effort!

Here are attachments included in the mailing:

1) HC Cover Note to Leaders, Final.doc (a digital version of the email above)
2) HC Bulletin Insert 10-23-09 Final.pdf (the one-stop nationwide parish bulletin insert)
3) HC Pulpit Announcement & Prayer, Final 1.doc (a how-to for distributing the materials)
4) HC Ad Saving_Lives_Flyer_FINAL.pdf (a flyer to be placed on bulletin boards, etc.)

Read the USCCB NATIONWIDE BULLETIN INSERT.

Here is the suggested petition for the Prayer of the Faithful:

"That Congress will act to ensure that needed health care reform will truly protect the life, dignity and health care of all and that we will raise our voices to protect the unborn and the most vulnerable and to preserve our freedom of conscience. We pray to the Lord."

I'll be listening carefully at Mass this weekend for the announcement and expecting to receive the bulletin insert.

Paranormal TAXivity

Vote for the scariest Democrat in Washington.

Harry "The Vaporizer" Reid

Chris "Sweetheart Mortages" Dodd

Nancy "Public Option" Pelosi

Arlen "The Chameleon" Specter

SPOOKY!

Obama Fundraisers Get Posts

Obama has rewarded his top fundraisers, and not just with bowling and movies at the White House.

From USA Today:

More than 40% of President Obama's top-level fundraisers have secured posts in his administration, from key executive branch jobs to diplomatic postings in countries such as France, Spain and the Bahamas, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Twenty of the 47 fundraisers that Obama's campaign identified as collecting more than $500,000 have been named to government positions, the analysis found.

Overall, about 600 individuals and couples raised money from their friends, family members and business associates to help fund Obama's presidential campaign. USA TODAY's analysis found that 54 have been named to government positions, ranging from Cabinet and White House posts to advisory roles, such as serving on the economic recovery board charged with helping guide the country out of recession.

Nearly a year after he was elected on a pledge to change business-as-usual in Washington, Obama also has taken a cue from his predecessors and appointed fundraisers to coveted ambassadorships, drawing protests from groups representing career diplomats. A separate analysis by the American Foreign Service Association, the diplomats' union, found that more than half of the ambassadors named by Obama so far are political appointees, said Susan Johnson, president of the association. An appointment is considered political if it does not go to a career diplomat in the State Department.

That's a rate higher than any president in more than four decades, the group's data show, although that could change as the White House fills more openings. Traditionally about 30% of top diplomatic jobs go to political appointees, and roughly 70% to veteran State Department employees. Ambassadors earn $153,200 to $162,900 annually.

Obama hasn't delivered what he promised.

Change?

Are you kidding?

Improvement?

No.

Larry David - 'Curb Your Enthusiasm': Jesus Painting and Urine (Video)

Why is it that Bob Griese gets suspended by ESPN for making an unscripted joke that Juan Pablo Montoya was "out having a taco," but Larry David can get away with creating an episode of his TV series that involves his character urinating on a picture of Jesus?

From FOX News:

Comedian Larry David is under attack from critics who say he pushed the mocking of religion and Christian belief in miracles over the edge in the latest episode of his HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm," which the cable network defended as "playful."

On the show's most recent installment, which aired Sunday, David urinates on a painting of Jesus Christ, causing a woman to believe the painting depicts Jesus crying.

Deal Hudson, author and publisher of InsideCatholic.com, said he doesn't find any humor in the episode.

"I don't think it's funny," Hudson told Foxnews.com. "Why is it that people are allowed to publicly show that level of disrespect for Christian symbols? If the same thing was done to a symbol of any other religions -- Jewish or Muslim -- there'd be a huge outcry. It's simply not a level playing field."

Hudson said an apology from the show's producers and writing team should be issued.

"Somebody should [apologize]," Hudson said. "When is it going to stop? When is common sense going to dictate that people realize this willingness of artists to do to Christianity what they would never do to Judaism or Islam?"

In a statement to Foxnews.com, HBO downplayed the controversy.

"Anyone who follows Curb Your Enthusiasm knows that the show is full of parody and satire," the statement read. "Larry David makes fun of everyone, most especially himself. The humor is always playful and certainly never malicious."

Has David ever done anything on his show similarly "playful" regarding Islam?

Noel Sheppard, NewsBusters, describes the controversial episode:

The set-up is the show's star and producer Larry David is taking some medication that is making him urinate quite forcefully.

...At one point in the show, David goes to the bathroom in a Catholic home and splatters urine on a picture of Jesus; he doesn't clean it off. Then a Catholic woman goes to the bathroom, sees the picture and concludes that Jesus is crying. She then summons her equally stupid mother and the two of them fall to their knees in prayer. When David and Jerry Seinfeld (playing himself) are asked if they ever experienced a miracle, David answers, "every erection is a miracle." That's what passes for creativity these days.

I think this crosses the line.

The splattered urine is bad enough but what really is offensive is that the women are mocked for their faith.

Obviously, the drips of urine aren't the tears of Jesus. So the women are depicted as fools for their misinterpretation.

It's the mocking of their beliefs that bugs me.

It also bugs me that David, and Jerry Seinfeld, for his part, feel comfortable finding humor in something that understandably could offend Catholics.

Would these libs do an episode about urinating on the Qur'an?
________________

Here's video.

TheShwaNerd posted it on YouTube with this comment:

Bill Donohue hates this, which means you automatically love it, regardless.

Ian Baker - Jack Daniel's Steak

Ian Baker, 23, claims he didn't violate the absolute sobriety term of his bond for his fourth OWI arrest.

Baker insists that the reason he failed a breathalyzer test when he was checked on Monday was not because he consumed alcohol. He blames the results on a Jack Daniels steak he the night before.

From the Sheboygan Press:

A Sheboygan man with a fourth drunken driving charge pending is facing a new charge after failing a breathalyzer test, then claiming the test result was from eating a Jack Daniels steak, according to a criminal complaint.

Ian A. Baker... was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor bail jumping, which carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail.

According to the complaint:

Baker came to his court-ordered intoxicated driver intervention program Monday morning and blew a blood-alcohol level of 0.07 on a breath test. He then denied drinking any alcohol and blamed the test result on eating a Jack Daniels steak the night before.

Baker was charged in July with the fourth-offense OWI and released on a $1,500 signature bond that forbade alcohol consumption.

Baker must have had his steak swimming in a bowl Jack Daniels.

Jack Daniel's sauces served at places like TGI Friday's don't get the diners drunk. Restaurants don't card people before they can order food prepared with sauces containing a bit of alcohol.

Baker's claim that he had a 0.07 test the morning after eating a Jack Daniel's steak the night before is crazy.

Jack Daniel's Steak Sauces available in grocery stores, made by Heinz, contain no alcohol.

JACK DANIEL'S® EZ MARINADER, BARBECUE SAUCES AND STEAK SAUCES DO NOT CONTAIN ALCOHOL.

Baker's excuse for blowing a 0.07, in spite of being prohibited from consuming any alcohol, is so silly; but it really isn't funny.

He's 23 years old and he's screwing up his life. He has a serious problem.

Leno: Jeff Wood - 'Politician of the Week'

Once again, Wisconsin has made it into Jay Leno's monologue.

Last month, Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan provided an easy target for Leno's jokes.

Leno's target last night was Rep. Jeff Wood.

Here's the police Dash Cam video of Wood's arrest:



Leno apparently found that irresistible.

JAY LENO: It's time for a new feature we call 'Politician of the Week.' I think this is going to be one of my favorite things.

This week we bring you Wisconsin State Representative Jeffrey Wood. And there's his picture, right there.



Why is he the politician of the week? Liz, roll the tape.

(Dash Cam video of Wood losing his balance)

Here he is being arrested for suspicion of DUI for the third time in ten months. There's your politics. Whoa!!!

(Wood falls.)

There you go. There you go. Yes, siree, Bob.

I really don't find that entertaining.

Chip Reid, Robert Gibbs: White House Perks for Donors

CBS' Chip Reid was trying to get some straight answers from Robert Gibbs about the revelations that top Democrat donors have received perks and special access to the White House.

Gibbs wasn't very cooperative. He seemed to be troubled that Reid dared to challenge him.

Reid was acting like he worked for FOX News.

Video.



Transcript

CHIP REID: The RNC is calling for the White House to release the names of donors who have gotten special access to White House advisors and perks like the bowling alley. Will you release those names?

ROBERT GIBBS: Every name of every person that comes to this White House will be released.

REID: In the past, too?

GIBBS: I think there soon will be some look-back list that will be released. But again, Chip, this -- this is something, again, that for the first time in any administration at any point in our history, we've undertaken releasing publicly those names. I would remind -- let me just also -- the Republican National Committee -- there's two political parties, two major political parties in this country. One party doesn't accept contributions from registered federal lobbyists. That same party doesn't accept contributions from political action committees. It's not the committee with which you just asked me the question on.

REID: Are you saying the White House will release the names of any donors who come in, and then, say did they meet with particular White House advisors as -- in exchange for those contributions?

GIBBS: Through an agreement that we announced in August, the names of people that come to the White House will be released, and any contributor's name --

REID: But will we know what they did --

GIBBS: -- is released as per the forms on the FEC.

REID: Will it simply be a name on a list, or will we know that they came here to meet with a senior White House official in exchange for a contribution?

GIBBS: Chip, as we did this briefing in August, I'll remind you that the WAVES records will denote who that person is, when they came, how long they were here, and who they met with -- again, a standard not met by any other previous White House.

REID: We will know if they used the White House bowling alley, for example?

GIBBS: There are only a couple of people that I know that have used the residence bowling alley.

REID: -- bowling alley also.

GIBBS: I can report to you that Ethan Gibbs, with the bumpers down, bowled a couple of games while eating some chicken fingers.

REID: Was there a quid pro quo here?

GIBBS: No, of course not.

REID: Well, the DNC documents actually say those who raise $300,000 before the 2010 midterm elections get quarterly meetings with senior members of the Obama administration.

GIBBS: I'll point you to the DNC on that.

REID: But they're with White House officials.

GIBBS: Again, I'll point you to the DNC.

REID: How can you point us to them when it's White House officials who the meetings are with? Can I have one other? Do you know if any of these donors have had a night in the Lincoln Bedroom -- reminding of an earlier controversy?

GIBBS: Not that I'm aware of.

Way to go, Chip.

Levi Johnston and CBS: Equally Sleazy

CBS has given Levi Johnston, the shameless self-promoter and soon-to-be Playgirl playmate, a forum to spew his sleaze.

CBS offered Johnston a full-frontal showcase on its Early Show, with Maggie Rodriguez interviewing him -- 2 PARTS! She seemed very comfortable participating in the slime fest.

Johnston talked about his Vanity Fair tell-all about Sarah Palin, detailing what he witnessed, what he heard her say.

Johnston also told Rodriguez he's been hearing a lot about his saying in a recent first-person tell-all in Vanity Fair magazine that Palin routinely referred to her baby, Trig, who suffers from Down syndrome, as "retarded."

"I was just in shock for the first time I heard it," Johnston recalled for Rodriguez. "And then she'd say it regularly. And I think she was joking, but it doesn't make it right."

Still, Johnston remarked to Rodriguez, "Those are just little ... things I put in Vanity Fair. You know, all the big things I got, I'm keeping -- you know, I'm keeping them in, and -- you know, it's just something that probably will never come out."

He added that he's "sure Sarah's got something ... coming for me," perhaps in her soon-to-be-released memoir, but, "I'm not worried about her saying anything about me. I've really never done anything bad. I don't have anything to hide. So she can go on and say what she wants."

Johnston stood by his contention in Vanity Fair that Sarah and Todd Palin would not only regularly talk about divorce -- they'd do it in front of their children, adding to Rodriguez, "I'm sure it really hurt their kids, you know. I didn't like it. I wasn't even their kid."

...Now an aspiring actor and model, Johnston is going for the ultimate exposure -- in an upcoming issue of Playgirl magazine.

He told Rodriguez the Playgirl spread will be done "tastefully," saying, "I'm not gonna just go out there and get naked." He expands on that in Part Two of the interview, which airs Thursday.

There's nothing "tasteful" about Johnston.

There's nothing "tasteful" about CBS. Good grief, what would Edward R. Murrow say about this crap?

I bet David Letterman is drooling over the thought of interviewing Johnston.

If not for the recent disclosures about him having sex with a number of Late Show with David Letterman staffers, including an intern, I have no doubt that Johnston would be given the spotlight by Letterman.

Who knows?

Maybe Johnston still will end up on the show.

CBS obviously has no shame.

Krauthammer: Obama, Bush, and Afghanistan

Charles Krauthammer really hammers Obama on his very unpresidential habit of blaming President Bush for his own inadequacies and failures.

Video.



Transcript

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: I want to point out one thing about what Obama had said when he talked about the long years of drift.

There is something truly disgusting about the way he cannot refrain from attacking Bush when he's being defensive about himself. I mean, it's beyond disgraceful here.

He won election a year ago. He became the commander in chief two months later. He announced his own strategy, not the Bush strategy, his strategy, six months ago. And it wasn't offhanded. It was in a major address with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State standing with him.

And now he's still talking about 'the drift' in the Bush years. What's happening today is not a result of 'the drift,' so-called, in the Bush years. It's because of the drift in his years. It's because of the flaws in his own strategy, which is what he is now reexamining.

He has every right as commander in chief to reexamine his own strategy. But he ought to be honest, forthright, and courageous enough as a president to simply say, 'I'm rethinking the strategy I adopted six months ago,' and not once again, child-like, attack his predecessor.

Exactly.

Obama is not honest. He's not forthright. And he's not courageous.

It's been over nine months since his inauguration, yet Obama hasn't switched gears from being a candidate to being the president.

Obama needs to quit politicking and start leading.

Schwarzenegger's Hidden Message

Some are charging that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger got creative in a message to members of the California State Assembly.

To discover the not so hidden message, you have to treat the text like a Word Search puzzle.



The first letters of the words on the left of the second and third paragraphs of the text spell it out.

Coincidence?

No way.

Obama: Perks for Top Donors

Obama has offered top Democrat donors access to the storied White House bowling alley and movie theater, plus loads of other perks.

Can selling nights in the Lincoln Bedroom be far behind?

From the Washington Times:

During his first nine months in office, President Obama has quietly rewarded scores of top Democratic donors with VIP access to the White House, private briefings with administration advisers and invitations to important speeches and town-hall meetings.

High-dollar fundraisers have been promised access to senior White House officials in exchange for pledges to donate $30,400 personally or to bundle $300,000 in contributions ahead of the 2010 midterm elections, according to internal Democratic National Committee documents obtained by The Washington Times.

One top donor described in an interview with The Times being given a birthday visit to the Oval Office. Another was allowed use of a White House-complex bowling alley for his family. Bundlers closest to the president were invited to watch a movie in the red-walled theater in the basement of the presidential mansion.

Mr. Obama invited his top New York bundler, UBS Americas CEO Robert Wolf, to golf with him during the president's Martha's Vineyard vacation in August. At least 39 donors and fundraisers also were treated to a lavish White House reception on St. Patrick's Day, where the fountains on the North and South Lawns were dyed green, photos and video reviewed by The Times and CBS News also show.

Presidential aides said there has been no systematic effort to use the White House complex to aid fundraising....

"No systematic effort to use the White House complex" in fundraising.

So it wasn't "systematic." It just happened to work out that way. Amazing!

I'm not surprised by these revelations at all. Actually, I'd be surprised if Obama didn't reward his top donors with White House perks.

Do you know what would really surprise me?

I would be surprised if Obama offered the White House-complex bowling alley to Special Olympics participants, like he promised he would after he so cruelly mocked them when he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, March 19, 2009.

It's pretty sick that Obama hasn't made good on that promise while he has been granting access to top Democrat donors.

This is sleazy politics as usual.

Change?

What a load!

Obama's first 9 months in office have been marked by broken promises and lies. Really disgraceful.

Obama in Madison, November 4

Well, well, well.

Wisconsin Democrats need to pick a candidate to run for governor in 2010.

Barbara Lawton bailed, as did Ron Kind.

Tom Barrett won't commit.

What are the Dems to do?

Here he comes to save the day -- OBAMA! He just happens to be planning a visit to Wisconsin next week to talk about education.

What a coinky dink!

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

President Barack Obama is planning to visit the Madison area Nov. 4 to discuss ways to strengthen America's education system, according to an administration official.

No other details on the president's visit were immediately available.

Do you think Obama might have a few nice words to say about Barrett?

I'm sure Barrett will be in Madison

I wonder if a fundraiser is on Obama's itinerary.

Sounds like a plan.

Wouldn't it be nice if Obama could bring some Swine Flu vaccine from his stash?

That probably would be a more effective way to round up support for Barrett than offering Wisconsinites cigarettes or Kringles.

Barbara Lawton Affair Rumor

Dirty politics is nothing new.

I don't know why Barbara Lawton is the target of a rumor, given the fact that she already quit the race for governor. Why would political enemies bother with the smear that Lawton had an affair with a woman?

From Jay Sorgi, 620 WTMJ:

The Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin is denying rumors about an affair, rumours retracted by a radio talk show host from Green Bay.

In a radio interview with WTMJ partner station WIBA Radio in Madison, Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton says that rumors about such an affair are untrue.

"I am incredulous that I am fielding questions about such an outrageous lie," said Lawton in the interview with reporter Robin Colbert.

"It really diminishes the dignity of the office I hold to give credence to such an extraordinary lie. My husband and I both celebrate our 36th anniversary in two weeks. We have had an extraordinary run with two fabulous children who have spouses, and four grandchildren."

I believe Lawton. I don't think she quit the race because of an affair.

I think she quit because the national Dem party made her quit.

That said, plenty of elected officials do act horrified and deny affairs. John Edwards comes to mind, and Bill Clinton.

Being married forever and having children mean nothing. That's irrelevant when it comes to being an adulterer.

I feel sorry for Lawton. First, her dreams of running for governor are dashed. Then, she has to defend her fidelity. It's been a rough few days for her.

Of course, if she's lying, like Edwards did, she's really a loser, like Edwards.

At present, the loser in this story is definitely Jerry Bader, WTAG talk radio host in Green Bay. He gave the rumor traction. He made a fool of himself.

Now, he's recanted.

11:23 AM STATEMENT FROM JERRY BADER CONCERNING THE BARBARA LAWTON STORY:

I HAVE LOST CONFIDENCE IN THE SOURCES THAT PROVIDED INFORMATION YESTERDAY REGARDING LT. GOV BARBARA LAWTON. THEREFORE I CANNOT STAND BY THE STORY POSTED YESTERDAY.

This story is so weird.

It's really irresponsible for Bader to make such accusations without being very confident in his sources. Bader's listeners have to question his credibility overall. How many in his audience have lost confidence in Bader? It was not too bright for Bader to run with that rumor.

I'd like to know who originally put the rumor out there. Was it a trap and Bader took the bait? In any event, Bader thoroughly screwed up.

I think all signs point to pressure from Obama as the reason for Lawton dropping out, but there's another reason that she quit. It has nothing to do with a lesbian affair.

I read somewhere that Lawton said something so explosive that she had to drop out.

Lawton said, "You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray [the confessed assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed."

That deserves repeating. What a racist! This statement should be splashed all over the media.

Wait. Maybe Lawton didn't say that. I'm not really sure.

I guess I can't back that up.

Did Tom Barrett say it?

Yes, I think he said it.

Maybe not. I don't really know.

Never mind.

Shepard Smith Apology -- Corzine, Christie

FOX News anchor Shepard Smith got bent out of shape when correspondent Shannon Bream did a quick interview with New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie.

He called out the incident as being less than fair and balanced. He seemed quite angry about it.


Shep is ticked off.

Video.



Transcript

SHEPARD SMITH: When will you be interviewing Jon Corzine?

SHANNON BREAM: We have in multiple requests, and when it comes through, we'll let you know.

SMITH: Wow. Thank you very much, Shannon Bream. Uh, wow. I didn’t know that was about to happen. My apologies for the lack of balance there. If I'd had control, it wouldn't have happened.

Listen to very beginning of the clip. Smith says, "The Democrat's probably going to win, right?"

Making that assumption about this tight race is not very fair and balanced at all.

It's funny that Smith is cheerleading for Corzine, the Democrat, but then gets huffy about the lack of fairness.

It cuts both ways.

Moreover, what is Bream supposed to do? She can't make Corzine just materialize. If his camp isn't responding to requests for an interview with FOX, that doesn't mean she shouldn't speak with Christie.

Smith needs to get a grip.

Fallon: Obama Boys' Club, Basketball

JIMMY FALLON: After the President invited only men to play basketball with him earlier this month, the National Organization for Women is complaining that the Obama administration has a boys' club atmosphere -- Not to be confused with the Clinton administration, where they had a gentlemen's club atmosphere.

Bart Stupak, Pelosi, and Abortion

IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW
________________

Not all elected Democrats believe that the health care bill should include provisions for taxpayer funds to pay for abortions.

Without question, most Democrats are pro-abortion. Many are radically pro-abortion like Obama and Wisconsin's Russ Feingold. But some do not march in lockstep with the Culture of Death Dems.

Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan is one. Needless to say, Nancy Pelosi isn't happy with Stupak.

From The Hill:

Rep. Bart Stupak said Speaker Pelosi is not pleased with his effort to change abortion-related provisions in the healthcare bill being crafted by the House.

During an interview on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" show, Stupak (D-Mich.) said he is undeterred in trying to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not pay for abortions. Stupak, who opposes abortion rights, acknowledged that some in his party are upset with his public campaign to change the bill.

"The Speaker is not happy with me," Stupak said.

The Energy and Commerce subcommittee chairman said he has been working with Democratic leaders on a compromise, but they haven't been able to strike a deal. Stupak pointed out that he and Democratic leaders have a fundamental disagreement on whether health plans that receive subsidies from the government should be allowed to provide coverage options on abortions.

Stupak wants a vote on the House floor to strike the language, and predicts he would have the votes to pass such an amendment.

"This has been federal law since 1976," he said, noting that President Barack Obama has vowed not to allow healthcare reform to pay for abortions.

That's right. Obama has promised that health care reform will not allow federal funds to be used to pay for abortions.

Obama told a joint session of Congress and the American people, "One more misunderstanding I want to clear up -- under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions."

Yes, he was lying, but Stupak is correct about Obama's promise.

"We have to have a vote," he said.

If he doesn't get one, Stupak said he and as many as 39 other Democrats will vote no on a procedural motion to bring the health bill to the floor. A House vote on healthcare reform could be taken next week.

Stupak stressed he wants to vote for healthcare reform and is "still somewhat optimistic" that he will reach an accord with Democratic leaders.

However, the Michigan Democrat said he will not be backing down: "I'm comfortable with where I'm at. This is who I am. It's reflective of my district. If it costs me my seat, so be it."

I applaud Stupak for standing up to Pelosi and Obama, and refusing to march in lockstep, even if it costs him his seat in the House.

Dissent is not tolerated in Obama's America, certainly not dissent within the Democrat Party.

I'm sure he's being pressured to fall in line.

It's very encouraging to find a politician willing to put principles ahead of partisanship.
____________________

UPDATE: Stupak Will Vote For Obamacare Even With Public Funded Abortion

“If everything I want [is] in the final bill, I like everything in the bill except you have public funding for abortion, and we had a chance to run our amendment and we lost. OK, I voted my conscience, stayed true to my principles, stayed true to the beliefs of this district, could I vote for healthcare? Yes I still could.”

-Bart Stupak

Thanks to Luce County GOP for bringing this to my attention.

It appears that Stupak is engaged in political posturing.

Another politician disappoints....

Keith Olbermann in High Speed Car Chase

FOX NEWS ALERT!!!

ANDY LEVY: This is a FOX News Alert from America's newsroom. I'm Andy Levy.

Shocking new video of a car chase in Maryland. Sources now confirming to FOX News that the driver has been identified as MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann. The Countdown host allegedly racing back to the White House after realizing he left his "Twister" mat and baby oil there after last week's private meeting between President Obama and a group of liberal pundits.

Sources telling FOX News that Olbermann realized his mistake while looking over the talking points that were issued at the meeting. The former sportscaster jumping immediately into his car wearing only a leather thong and his "Don't be a pinhead" t-shirt.

More on this story as it develops. This has been a FOX News Alert. Now back to Red Eye, already in progress.

Swine Flu Vaccine Availability Improving, Especially for First Daughters

The government is putting a positive spin on the availability of H1N1 vaccine.

Celebrate! The outlook is improving!

Does that mean no long lines? Enough supply to meet demand?

Not even close.

ATLANTA (AP) -- More than 22 million doses of swine flu vaccine are available now, and most Americans should soon find it easier to get their dose, U.S. health officials said Tuesday.

"We're beginning to get to significant increases in the availability," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a briefing.

"Significant increases"?

Yeah, right.

Even with these supposedly tremendous increases, the odds are not good that you'll have access to vaccine.

Last week there were just 14 million doses on hand, despite predictions that as many as 120 million doses would be ready by mid-October. The slow supply trickle has frustrated Americans, who have stood in line for hours in some parts of the country.

The Obama administration failed to deliver. It was way, WAY off on its predictions of availability of vaccine.

The amount of vaccine available isn't nearly enough. It's not close to what was promised.

The shortage has probably increased demand, Frieden said.

"It's quite likely that that too little vaccine is one of the things that's making people more interested in getting vaccinated, frankly. When we have shortages, we see an increase in demand," he said.

People are probably frightened. They stand in lines for hours because they're being told by local health departments this may be their only chance to get vaccinated.

The vaccine is grown in eggs in a reliable but slow process, and smaller amounts of it were being produced per egg than expected. There were other snags, too, but health officials say manufacturers have overcome most of those and are making the vaccine more speedily.

The government has ordered 225 million doses.

Enough with the egg stuff.

The buck stops with the Obama administration.

The Bush Administration was blamed for flu vaccine shortages. No one was blaming the freaking eggs. The Obama administration should be held to the same standard. Period.

Hey, CDC! It's not reassuring that 22 million doses are available. There are 300 million Americans.

Sasha and Malia Obama received their Swine Flu vaccines last week.

A spokeswoman for the First Lady's office says Sasha & Malia Obama received their H1N1 vaccines last week after the immunizations were made available to Washington, D.C. school children. The White House physician applied for and received the vaccines through the DC Department of Health, "using the same process as every other vaccination site in the District."

BS.

Did Michelle stand in line for hours with her kids to get them immunized?

Were they turned away when supplies of vaccine ran out?

Lefties would have flipped out if the Bush daughters had received vaccinations while young people around the country were denied access due to shortages.

Sarah Palin: $1.25 Million Book Deal

From the Associated Press:

Financial disclosure statement says Palin received at least $1.25M for book deal.

It's kind of funny that rabid, angry Leftists helped make this possible. Tina Fey probably deserves a little credit, too. And the sicko David Letterman's obsession with Sarah Palin and family certainly kept her in the public eye.

They pilloried Palin, but she's still standing and respected by many.

Rather than one of those vice presidential candidates who becomes a footnote, a trivia contest answer, fading into obscurity, Palin is a star.

She wasn't destroyed by the Left's attacks. In a way, the loons on the Left elevated her status.

Barbara Lawton

I don't buy the BS that Barbara Lawton is trying to sell Wisconsinites.

There is no question that she planned to be the Democrat candidate for governor, then she did a dramatic about-face and suddenly dropped out of the race.

This, of course, comes on the heels of the Democrats using reporter Dan Bice as a stooge to recruit Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to run.

Lawton provides only an extremely vague explanation for quitting the race.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton wouldn't say Tuesday why she dropped out of the race for governor, but said health considerations and pressure from other Democrats were not factors in her decision.

She said she was not pressured by aides to President Barack Obama who would like to see Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett succeed Gov. Jim Doyle.

"My decision pivots on no one else but me," she said.

...Lawton's campaign was active as recently as Saturday, but she abruptly announced Monday she was reversing her August decision to run for governor. The announcement left no Democrats in the first wide-open race for governor since 1982. Barrett said Monday he intends to decide soon about whether he would get in the race.

Lawton didn't talk to reporters Monday. She said in an interview Tuesday she quit the race for "personal reasons" but declined to provide specifics.

Lawton comes off like such a ditz.

On Saturday, she's a candidate and on Monday she's not, even though she has absolutely no competition.

Her "deeply personal" line serves to raise questions, not eliminate them.

Why would she voluntarily allow herself to appear so flighty?

Obama and the Dems must have offered her a very sweet deal to drop out. Maybe thug Rahm Emanuel threatened her. Who knows?

Lawton's not talking.
_______________

UPDATE: Barbara Lawton Lesbian Affair Rumor

Alan Grayson: 'K-Street Whore'

Alan Grayson is at it again.

In a radio interview with Alex Jones, Grayson referred to a woman as a "K-Street whore."

Is Nancy Pelosi going to condemn Grayson for speaking in such a vile manner and rein in the out of control Dem?

Why aren't members of the liberal media networks calling out Grayson, making this a major story?

No Republican would be granted such leeway.

Audio of Grayson's attack on Linda Robertson, the "K-Street whore."



Grayson is not backing down. He stands by his remark.

From Politico:

A spokesman for Rep. Alan Grayson is defending the Florida Democrat’s use of the word “whore” to describe a female official at the Federal Reserve, pointing to a secondary dictionary definition to argue that Grayson meant only that the woman had sold her soul for financial gain.

“The attack was on her professional career, not her personal life,” Grayson spokesman Todd Jurkowski wrote in an e-mail to POLITICO. “The second definition of ‘whore’ in the American Heritage Dictionary is 'A person considered as having compromised principles for personal gain.’

“I think a reasonable person could believe that a person who was paid to promote and defend Enron has 'compromised principles for personal gain.'”

Jurkowski was responding to the outrage – from both sides of the aisle – that came after Republicans circulated a clip Monday of Grayson calling Linda Robertson, an aide to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, a “K Street whore” in a radio interview last month.

Robertson lobbied for Enron, the Clinton Treasury Department and Johns Hopkins University before going to work for Bernanke; Jurkowski said his boss was simply making a point about Robertson’s prior work.

"She had the audacity to attack a congressman who used to be an economist. She's a career lobbyist who used to work for Enron and advocates for whatever she gets paid to promote," Jurkowski said.

The online version of the American Heritage Dictionary actually lists three definitions for the word “whore”: “1. A prostitute. 2. A person considered sexually promiscuous. 3. A person considered as having compromised principles for personal gain.”

It's the second time in recent weeks that a Grayson aide has cited a less-incendiary meaning for a word to try to put out a political fire Grayson lit by using strong language.

In a House floor speech earlier this month, Grayson blamed Republicans for the current state of the health care system, which he referred to as a "holocaust in America."

Obviously, Grayson is using inappropriate and inflammatory language if he is forced to keep citing dictionary definitions to defend himself.

I think Grayson is hiding behind the dictionary to spew his vitriol. It's a sleazy excuse to speak in an extremely derogatory manner.

No Republican could get away with that.

Last night at a fundraiser, Obama actually praised Grayson.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) is drawing criticism from his congressional colleagues, but President Obama offered him some warm words at a Miami fundraiser for the Democratic congressional campaign committees last night.

Obama, in introducing the members of Congress in attendance, called Grayson – along with Florida Reps. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Kendrick Meek – as “outstanding members of Congress.”

Good grief.

Obama condones Grayson's disgraceful behavior by giving him that shout-out.

Bad move, Obama.

Barney Frank: 'Increase the Role of Government'

MSNBC's Ed Schultz gave Barney Frank a forum to bloviate about how the Republicans screwed up government. Ralph Nader also participated in the discussion.

Frank blames Republican incompetence for why the American public opposes government intrusion into their lives.

Frank does make one truthful revelation: "We (the Dems) are trying in every front to increase the role of government in the regulatory area."

Video here.

Transcript

RALPH NADER: But the important thing is-and this is where I think Barney the weakest. In 2000, he voted for a bill that continued the deregulation of the burgeoning derivative racket. And now he's supporting a bill that has a huge loophole in terms of exempting trillions of dollars of certain categories of derivatives.

BARNEY FRANK: Let me respond.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHULTZ: Let him respond.

Go ahead.

NADER: And he hasn't-don't interrupt so much, Barney.

SCHULTZ: All right, Mr. Nader. Let him respond to that.

NADER: And the other is he didn't support a categorical ban on abuse of derivatives.

SCHULTZ: All right.

Quickly respond to that, Barney.

FRANK: Well, first of all, I think Ralph gets to luxuriate in the impurity of his irrelevance.

We're in there fighting these things. I had overwhelming Republican opposition to any regulation derivatives, and some Democrats. And we fought hard for it.

We are establishing a great framework for the regulation of derivatives. We are moving forward in that. And we've done as much as we can politically.

But the fact is that we have a political situation. And I'll tell you, here's the real irony of this, Ed. The right wing took control of government and ruined it. They gave it a bad reputation.

Now that we are trying in every front to increase the role of government in the regulatory area, we run into this public opinion that says, hey, those are the guys who screwed up Katrina. So- the frustration is, they're benefiting from their own incompetence.

SCHULTZ: All right, Gentlemen.

"Ralph gets to luxuriate in the impurity of his irrelevance"?

I think Frank gets away with saying some angry and off-the-wall stuff because he's often so difficult to understand.

His assertion that the public doesn't trust the government because of the Republicans is ridiculous.

In general, the Democrats are running into opposition because when Americans are informed about their radical plans, they reject them.

'Treating Seniors as Clunkers'

Do older Americans have reason to fear ObamaCare?

Short answer: YES

From Betsy McCaughey, the New York Post:

Everyone knows that if you don't pay to maintain and repair your car, you limit its life. The same is true as human beings age. We need medical care to avoid becoming clunkers -- disabled, worn out, parked in wheelchairs or nursing homes.

For nearly a half century, Medicare has enabled seniors to get that care. But ObamaCare is about to change that, by limiting what doctors can provide their aging patients.

The Senate Finance Committee health bill released last week controls doctors by cutting their pay if they give older patients more care than the government deems appropriate. Section 3003(b) (p. 683) punishes doctors who land in the 90th percentile or above on what they provide for seniors on Medicare by withholding 5 percent of their compensation.

This withhold provision forces doctors to choose between treating their patients and avoiding government penalties. HMOs used the same cost-cutting device in the early '90s until it was deemed dangerous to patients and outlawed. Now, lawmakers want to use it against the most vulnerable patients, the elderly. This bill and four others under negotiation also would slash about $500 billion from future Medicare funding.

President Obama and his budget director, Peter Orszag, have told seniors not to worry, claiming that Medicare spending could be cut by as much as 30 percent without doing harm. They cite the Dartmouth Atlas of Healthcare 2008, which tries to prove patients who get less care -- fewer hospital days, doctors' visits and imaging tests -- have the same medical "outcomes" as patients who get more care. But read the fine print.

The Dartmouth authors arrived at their dubious conclusion by restricting their study to patients who died. They examined what Medicare paid to care for these chronically ill patients in their last two years. By definition, the outcomes were all the same: death. The Dartmouth study didn't consider patients who recovered, left the hospital and even resumed active lives. It would be important to know whether these patients survived because they received more care.

...Cuts in future Medicare funding -- what Obama calls "savings" -- will mean less help in coping with aging and possibly shorter lives. Do we really want to treat our seniors like clunkers?

Section 3003(b) (p. 683) sets out penalties for doctors who provide what the government deems too much medical care to older Americans on Medicare.

The Senate Finance Committee health bill, the Baucus bill, is potentially dangerous for seniors.

Obama lies when he tells older Americans not to worry about their health care.

He should be honest, like Robert Reich:

"We are going to have to, if you're very old, we're not going to give you all that technology and all those drugs for the last couple of years of your life to keep you maybe going for another couple of months. It's too expensive, so we're going to let you die."

Top Ten Northwest Airlines Pilot Excuses

TOP TEN NORTHWEST AIRLINES PILOT EXCUSES

10."Bunch of fat guys seated on right side of plane made us vector east"

9."We get paid by the hour"

8."MapQuest always takes you the long way, am I right, people?"

7."Tired of that show-off Sullenberger getting all the attention"

6."You try steering one of those airplanes after eight or nine cocktails"

5."Wanted to catch end of in-flight movie"

4."Activating autopilot and making occasional P.A. announcements is exhausting"

3."According to our map, we only missed target by half-an-inch"

2."For a change, decided to send luggage to the right city and lose the passengers"

1."Thought we saw Balloon Boy"

PACKER FANS: CHEER FAVRE? WHY?

There is no way I would applaud Brett Favre when he trots out onto Lambeau Field wearing a purple jersey.

He's thrilled to be the quarterback for the Vikings. It's his dream come true. The ultimate in satisfaction for Favre would be to beat the Packers at Lambeau.

And some are proposing that Packer fans are supposed to cheer him, under those circumstances?

With all due respect, I think that's crazy.

Garry D. Howard, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, recommends that the green and gold faithful show Favre respect -- cheer first, jeer later.

When Brett Favre, aka No. 4, enters Lambeau Field late Sunday afternoon in his white Minnesota Vikings uniform - intent on working his magic for the purple-helmeted enemy - this is what you should do, please.

Stand up in front of your seat, put your hands together and clap. And whistle. And then clap some more. Forcefully. And cheer. Loud. Louder. The loudest you have ever screamed in your life.

That's right. . . . 

Show him the love and affection he has certainly earned by leading this franchise back to respectability and its rightful place as "Titletown."

Empower yourselves by showing off your obvious class with this rousing ovation.

Make him cry huge teardrops (he may just do that, mind you) all over his graying beard.

And then, after four strong minutes of this lovefest, hope that your boys, the Packers, kick his Hall of Fame (expletive deleted).

I disagree. I think the fans should show their class by cheering their heads off for Aaron Rodgers.

He's the one who deserves our respect and support.

Favre wanted to be the quarterback of one of the Packers' biggest rivals for a reason. When he was "retired" in 2008, he said he wanted to play for a team in our division, preferably the Vikings. He got his wish. Now we should applaud that?

I don't think so. That is seriously (expletive deleted) up.

I love what LeRoy Butler has to say about Favre's return to Lambeau.

The reaction should be 100% about Aaron Rodgers. When Aaron Rodgers comes out there you should give Aaron Rodgers a standing ovation because he’s our guy for the next 10 years. When Brett comes out you do like any other opposing quarterback, you boo him. If you don’t want to boo him, don’t say anything. But if you’re going to stand up wearing Packer clothing or a Packer uniform and cheer when Brett Favre comes out, you should bring a bag and put it over your head. You don’t cheer for somebody to beat your team, I don’t care who it is. You don’t cheer for another quarterback. If you want to cheer Brett, just bring a bag, put it over your head and you can cheer, and no one will hear you and that’s fine. This is Aaron Rodgers’ show. Don’t let somebody come into your back yard and cheer against you. You don’t cheer for another guy to beat your team. I hope I’m crystal clear with these fans who say they love to see Brett Favre. Well, Brett Favre is gone. It’s Aaron Rodgers’ show. He’s the No. 1-rated quarterback in the NFC, including Brett Favre. I’m happy we’ll be good for the next 10 years. I hope they’ll cheer Aaron and boo Brett. If they don’t want to boo him, that’s their right. But any other quarterback they’d boo, what makes him so special? I mean, wait until he has his number retired, you can cheer him then. You can applaud him all you want. You can’t do that the day of the game, and want your team to win. That’s standing on the fence. You’re either a Packer fan or a Brett fan. If you’re a Brett fan, go buy some purple and wear purple. I have a strong feeling on this, this is my team. I played 12 years for this team. Anybody who comes into that stadium, I want them to lose. If it were me coming back, I wouldn’t expect anyone to cheer for me when I’m going to destroy your team. Of course not.

Exactly.

Favre is an active player. He's coming to Lambeau intent on handing the Packers a defeat.

That deserves no applause from fans.

It wouldn't be classy to cheer Favre. It would be an insult to Aaron Rodgers and the team.

Plan on cheering Favre?

Put a bag over your head. Please.

Obama and Universal Health Care - October 2007

On October 9, 2007, Obama did an interview with the Concord Monitor editorial board.

Here's a list of audio clips from that interview.

Naked Emperor News highlights a clip of Obama talking about health care and the 50 plus 1 strategy of politics. He says such a strategy won't work when it comes to passing bold measures such as UNIVERSAL health care.



Transcript

OBAMA: You've got to break out of what I call the sort of 50 plus 1 pattern of presidential politics, which is, you have nasty primaries where everybody's disheartened. Then you divide the country -- 45% on one side, 45% on the other, 10% in the middle... and battle it out, and then maybe you eke out a victory of 50 plus 1. You can't govern.

You know, you get Air Force One. I mean, there are a lot of nice perks, but you can't deliver on health care. We're not going to pass universal health care with a 50 plus 1 strategy. We're not going to have a serious bold energy policy of the sort that I proposed yesterday unless you build a working majority.

Interesting.

I think Obama's perspective has changed in the past two years.

I think now he'd argue that a 50 plus 1 strategy is adequate. Sure, he'd rather have a large, obedient majority rather than struggle for every vote; but a win is a win.

He's certainly enjoying the perks of being president.

Conan: State Quarters - Balloon Boy, 2016 Olympics

It's been a while since Conan O'Brien did the comedy bit, "New State Quarters."

It's based on the series of commemorative U.S. state quarters. O'Brien's offerings, of course, have joke designs.

There was no new Wisconsin state quarter this time. We were spared for once, quite unusual.

Two examples from Monday's batch of quarters:

CONAN O'BRIEN: Illinois has a new quarter. That's right. Let's check it out. 'Illinois: Proud host of the 2016 Olympics viewing parties.'

O'BRIEN: Colorado is trying to make the best of a bad situation with their new quarter 'Colorado: the new A-hole capital of the world.'

Fallon: Favre, Obama, Swine Flu Joke

JIMMY FALLON: This is big news. President Obama just declared the Swine Flu outbreak a national emergency. A couple weeks ago it was, like, 'It's calmed down. It's gonna be fine.'

Now, it's a national emergency. I'm telling ya, the swine flu is a big threat, then it's not, then it is. Make up your mind. This thing is like the Brett Favre of infectious diseases. What are we gonna do with this thing?

Leno: Contessa Brewer, Jesse Jackson Joke

JAY LENO: An MSNBC anchor, Contessa Brewer, made an embarrassing mistake on the air last week. She called Jesse Jackson 'Al Sharpton.' Oh, yeah.

Even worse than that, after he told her, 'I'm Jesse Jackson,' she said, 'Oh, you're the one between Jermaine and Tito.'

Leno: Steve Phillips Joke

JAY LENO: I was watching SportsCenter last night, and I saw an interesting statistic. Do you know who got to third base more than any other player in this year's playoffs? ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips. Do you know about this?

Baseball announcer Steve Phillips has been fired after admitting he was having an affair with a 22-year-old assistant. You know, he should get a late night show.

Actually, colleagues at ESPN got suspicious when they asked him, 'Who scored?' and he said, 'I did.'

Leno: FOX News Joke

JAY LENO: The Obama administration recently said the FOX News organization is not a respectable news organization at all. There's a lot of fighting going on between them, you know. It's clear the president does not like them, especially when they report from the White House. Well, here, take a look at what happened with this FOX reporter over the weekend.

(Enter Obama with a noisy weed wacker.)

Kurtis Popp Sentenced - 'Being Stupid'

Kurtis Popp was sentenced today for his role in the Patrick Cudahy plant fire that began July 5, 2009.

The fire burned for days and caused more than $50 million in damage to the plant.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The second of two brothers who pleaded guilty to accidently starting the July 5th fire at the Patrick Cudahy meat packing plant was sentenced Monday to spend the next three Julys at the House of Corrections.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Dennis Cimpl gave 25-year-old Kurtis Popp the same sentence he gave his 23-year-old brother, Joshua Popp: a suspended sentence and three years of probation. As a condition of their probation, the brothers must each perform 500 hours of community service and spend the next three months of July locked-up.

Both brothers pleaded guilty to being party to a crime of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Police say former Marine Joshua Popp provided the military-grade flare, which Kurtis Popp launched as the two were celebrating the Fourth of July holiday.

..."What you are being sentenced for," Cimpl told Popp, "is being stupid."

Apparently, "being stupid," meaning causing a fire that "forced the evacuation of hundreds of Cudahy residents, idled most of the plant's 1,800 employees and caused well over $50 million in damage," doesn't carry a very tough punishment.

Kurtis and Joshua Popp received a very light slap on the wrist for what they did.

Laura Ingraham: Charlie Gibson, FOX News, the White House

Laura Ingraham told the truth yesterday on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos.



Transcript, from NewsBusters:

LAURA INGRAHAM, TALK RADIO HOST: Can I speak as the Fox representative on this show? By the way, you're all going to be banned from any future White House events for having me at this table. Bill Schein said that, and I know him well, he said that because he believes that of all the networks, Fox was going to hold the administration the most accountable. And the last time I checked, I thought that was the role of the press. I think, and again, I might not be invited back, George, but when Charlie Gibson didn't know what the ACORN story was all about, that was a collective gasp you heard across the United States. Charlie Gibson is an esteemed journalist. How do you not know about a story about a, about a group where President Obama cut his political teeth that had been exposed to the extent that Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill were ready to pull the rug out from under them and their funding? That's the kind of story that the White House doesn't want to have reported and repeated on other networks. That's why they don't like Fox News. [...]

Stephanopoulos' response was pathetic. "Well, eh, eh, eh, Charlie's had an amazing career. Set aside that moment."

Of course, he would stand up for his ABC colleague but the fact is it's wrong to set aside Gibson's ACORN moment.

It was very telling and it factors into the discussion of the White House war on FOX News.

INGRAHAM: I think a lot of people say if the Administration had the same view of, of, of the way to treat other threats to the United States, whether economic threats or real threats, Islamic jihadists, and don't probably put Fox in that same category, then it would be okay. I mean, they're so impassioned about Fox, meanwhile, it's kind of like very even rhetoric about other threats...I just think honestly the passion, the passion when you send out Emanuel and Axelrod and the President comments on it, I haven't seen them talk about other real threats in the same coordinated and sophisticated way as they're going after Fox. I mean, honestly, it looks defensive...We want him to treat the terrorists like that.

What I got from that roundtable discussion is that other members of the media are in the uncomfortable position of standing up for FOX. It pains them to do it.

They don't want to criticize Obama and the White House. HOST Stephanopoulos is a Dem hack. He's an apologist for Gibson and Obama. He looks rather biased to me.

Sebelius and Swine Flu Vaccine Supply

The woefully inadequate supply of H1N1 vaccine and the screwed up distribution process and the slew of mixed messages from government officials provides a glimpse into government-run health care:

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday the swine flu vaccine "is coming out the door as fast as it comes off the production line."

But at the same time, she acknowledged delays in getting a sufficient supply for all those demanding it.

...Appearing Monday morning on nationally broadcast news shows, she said officials now have a supply of about 16.5 million doses of the vaccine, while conceding that's millions of doses below the amount needed.

Sebelius said she couldn't predict just how widespread the virus will be. Roughly a thousand people have died from it so far in the United States. But she also said officials do not believe there is yet any cause to close down schools and cease other daily activities.

President Barack Obama declared a health emergency over the weekend to give hospitals and health professionals more leeway from federal regulations to respond to the illness....

Asked what advice she would give to people who have waited futilely in line for shots, the secretary replied, "I want them to come back."

"I hope that people aren't discouraged," she said. "I know it's frustrating to wait in line and particularly if you end up with no vaccine. We wish this could have been smoother, that we had a larger supply. We knew it would come in waves."

Sebelius sought to assure people that eventually there will be enough supplies "for everyone."

Eventually?

Define "eventually."

This is government-run health care.

This is you on government-run health care.



Any questions?

Shepard Smith and 'Something Crazy'

From Breitbart:

Editor's note: Smith posted this to his Facebook Fan Page last night according to TVNewser. So Monday is the "tomorrow" he's referring to. TVNewser asks: Car chase? Boy in a balloon? Something O.J.? All of the above?