SNL: MacGruber and Pepsi

For years on Saturday Night Live, Will Forte has played a character named "MacGruber."

The bit is a take-off on the TV series MacGyver.

It wasn't unusual to see the typical intro to the "MacGruber" skit.

For the first time, Richard Dean Anderson, the original MacGyver, made an appearance.



It took a little while for me to realize that this wasn't one of the SNL bits. It was a Pepsi commercial.



I think three Pepsi/"MacGruber" commercials aired during the first half hour of the show.

This takes product placement to a whole new level.
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The Pepsi commercials are posted on the SNL site along with the other clips from the show.

Watch the COMMERCIALS.

MacGruber: Pepsi 1

MacGruber: Pepsi 2

MacGruber: Pepsi 3

SNL: Gov. David Paterson

During Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update," Fred Armisen once again portrayed New York Gov. David Paterson.

The subject was Paterson's appointment of Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat.

Although this time Paterson's vision impairment wasn't brutally mocked by SNL the way it was in December 2008, his vision still was the source of jokes.

When Armisen as Paterson said he was going to read a prepared statement, he brought out binoculars and focused on the paper. "Paterson" then said he was just kidding and put down the binoculars.

Speaking of his selection of Kirsten Gillibrand for the Senate, "Paterson" said, "Honestly, I haven't heard so many people screaming at me since I took that archery class."

When "Paterson" was done speaking and Seth Meyers was resuming the news, "Paterson" wheeled his chair behind Meyers acting as if he couldn't make his way off the set.

As I said, it wasn't nearly as bad as last time, but SNL still saw fit to make fun of Paterson's limited vision.

Video.

Shoe Monument Removed

The "Shoe monument" honoring Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, the guy who many Americans cheered for throwing his shoes at President Bush, has been removed.

BAGHDAD -- The director of an orphanage in Tikrit says she must remove the shoe sculpture set up to honor the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush.

Fatin al-Nassiri says Iraqi police told her the statue had to be removed because government property should not be used for something with a political bias.

She says the statue was taken down on Saturday.

A sofa-sized shoe statue was formally unveiled to the public Thursday in the hometown of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari described his fiberglass-and-copper work in Tikrit as a homage to the pride of the Iraqi people.

This is a sad, sad day for all those President Bush haters.

Obama Ignores Suffering Americans

Where's Barack Obama?

Nearly 1 million Americans are suffering, still without power after being hit by crippling storms.

So why isn't Barack Obama coming to their aid?

Why isn't he personally touring the devastated areas?

I guess he's busy preparing for his "bipartisan" Super Bowl party, and readying himself for his Super Bowl pre-game LIVE interview from the White House with Matt Lauer.

MURRAY, Ky. (AP) -- Utility crews renewed work in subfreezing temperatures Saturday in their effort to put the power back on for nearly a million customers left in the dark by an ice storm that crippled parts of several states this week.
Thousands of people in ice-caked Kentucky awoke in motels and shelters, asked to leave their homes by authorities who said emergency teams in some areas were too strapped to reach everyone in need of food, water and warmth.

A 20-degree temperature boost was forecast across much of the region, a boon to the power crews but one that carried with it the threat of flooding.

Dozens of deaths have been reported and many people are pleading for a faster response to the power outages. About 536,000 homes and businesses across Kentucky were without power, down from more than 600,000 the largest outage in state history, surpassing the damage last year from the remnants of Hurricane Ike.

The outages disabled water systems in much of the western part of the state, where some in rural areas resorted to dipping buckets in a creek. Authorities warned it could be days or weeks before power was restored in the most remote spots.

That uncertainty had many appealing for help. Officials issued curfews Friday and urged those in dark homes to leave.

"We're asking people to pack a suitcase and head south and find a motel if they have the means, because we can't service everybody in our shelter," said Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown, who oversees about 9,000 people, many of whom spent a fifth night sleeping in the town's elementary school.

Local officials grew angrier at what they said was a lack of help from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Where's Obama? FEMA is screwing up -- AGAIN.

Where's Oprah? Why isn't she touring the damage and crying with the people? Why isn't Oprah outraged that the Obama administration isn't doing more?

Why aren't all the network anchors doing live reports from the storm ravaged areas?

In Kentucky's Grayson County, about 80 miles southwest of Louisville, Emergency Management Director Randell Smith said the 25 National Guardsmen who have responded have no chain saws to clear fallen trees. He said roads are littered with fallen trees and people shivering in bone-chilling cold are in need.

"We've got people out in some areas we haven't even visited yet," Smith said. "We don't even know that they're alive."

Smith said FEMA was still a no-show days after the storm.

"I'm not saying we can't handle it," Smith said. "We're handling it. But it sure would have made life a lot easier."

This is the first natural disaster of the Obama administration and it's being mishandled. This is a major screw-up.

Obama is partying and cranking the heat up in the Oval Office to 80 degrees, while nearly 1 million Americans have no heat at all.

Obviously, Obama doesn't care about these Americans, right?

Obama, Iran, and Naïveté

During the primaries, Barack Obama's Democrat opponents warned Americans that he was dangerously naïve on foreign policy.

Remember this?

Discussion of Obama's naïveté on foreign policy came to the fore on July 23, 2007 during the YouTube Debate.

QUESTION: "[W]ould you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries?"

OBAMA: "I would. And the reason is this, that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them -- which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration - is ridiculous."

Bad answer.

Hillary took a different position.

HILLARY: Well, I will not promise to meet with the leaders of these countries during my first year. I will promise a very vigorous diplomatic effort because I think it is not that you promise a meeting at that high a level before you know what the intentions are. I don't want to be used for propaganda purposes.

Following the debate, both Hillary and Obama spoke with the Quad-City Times.

Of Obama’s comment, [Hillary] said: “I thought that was irresponsible and frankly naive.”

Her campaign later circulated a memo to reporters saying it was a “mistake” to commit to presidential-level meetings without precondition "with some of the world's worst dictators" and portrayed her remarks as showing her depth of experience.

Obama, in a separate interview with the Times, vigorously defended his comments.

“What she’s somehow maintaining is my statement could be construed as not having asked what the meeting was about. I didn’t say these guys were going to come over for a cup of coffee some afternoon,” he said.

He added Clinton is making a larger point.

“From what I heard, the point was, well, I wouldn’t do that because it might allow leaders like Hugo Chavez to score propaganda points,” he said. “I think that is absolutely wrong.”

He likened the position to a continuation of the Bush administration diplomatic policies. And he said what was “irresponsible and naive” was voting to authorize the Iraq War.

Hillary wasn't the only Democrat to call Obama naïve on the foreign policy front.

Joe Biden did, too.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman and presidential candidate Joe Biden has joined the gang piling on Barack Obama for proposing possible intervention in Pakistan to pursue Al Qaeda -- using the same word Hillary Clinton used to criticize Obama's eagerness to negotiate with dictators: naïve.

In an interview on The Diane Rehm Show this morning, Biden told guest host Susan Page of USA Today the following:

"… in order to look tough, he's undermined his ability to be tough, were he president. Because if you're going to go into Pakistan -- which is already our policy by the way, if there's actionable intelligence -- you need actionable intelligence from moderates within Pakistan working with you. Now if you're already going to say I'm going to disregard whatever the country thinks and going to invade, the likelihood you're getting the cooperation you need evaporates. It's a well intended notion he has, but it's a very naïve way of figuring out how you're going to conduct foreign policy."

Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden were right.

Obama's promise to talk to Iran without preconditions was a BIG mistake.

Iran says Obama's offer to talk shows US failure

US President Barack Obama's offer to talk to Iran shows that America's policy of "domination" has failed, the government spokesman said on Saturday.

"This request means Western ideology has become passive, that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed," Gholam Hossein Elham was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

"Negotiation is secondary, the main issue is that there is no way but for (the United States) to change," he added.

After nearly three decades of severed ties, Obama said shortly after taking office this month that he is willing to extend a diplomatic hand to Tehran if the Islamic republic is ready to "unclench its fist".

In response, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched a fresh tirade against the United States, demanding an apology for its "crimes" against Iran and saying he expected "deep and fundamental" change from Obama.

Iranian politicians frequently refer to the US administration as the "global arrogance", "domineering power" and "Great Satan".

Tensions with the United States have soared over Iran's nuclear drive and Ahmadinejad's vitriolic verbal attacks against Washington's close regional ally Israel.

Bottom line: Obama is dreadfully inexperienced and it shows.

Springsteen Super Bowl T-Shirts

SPRINGSTEEN T-SHIRTS!

GET YOUR SPRINGSTEEN SUPER BOWL T-SHIRTS HERE!

SPRINGSTEEN COLLECTIBLE T-SHIRTS!



This is capitalism. Bruce Springsteen is a capitalist.

Makes his socialist preaching seem sort of insincere, doesn't it?

$27.95 plus shipping for a t-shirt is a lot for a blue-collar, working class guy to pay.

Maybe Springsteen should do more than speak out on behalf of the little guy. Maybe he should give his fans a break. He could pocket less profit and make the t-shirts available at cost.

Spread the wealth around.




Just 1 day until BS hits the stage!
__________________

Springsteen calls Wal-Mart CD deal a mistake

From the New York Times:

While his latest seven-album contract with Columbia Records is worth a reported $110 million, he still comes across as a working-class guy from New Jersey, invoking a compassionate populism as he sings about jobs, families and everyday life and savors the company of his longtime buddies in the E Street Band. He has the gravitas to lead off an inaugural concert and the gusto to rock the Super Bowl. In between he released a new studio album, “Working on a Dream.”

He comes across as a working-class guy?

Really? Maybe he seems that way to those disconnected from reality.

... On Jan. 13 a $10 collection of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s “Greatest Hits” — 11 songs from a 1995 hits anthology, as well as “Radio Nowhere” from “Magic” — went on sale exclusively at Wal-Mart. Since Wal-Mart has been accused of anti-union practices by Human Rights Watch, among others, and has paid large fines for violating labor laws, the announcement prompted online criticisms like the one from asroma on the fan site backstreets.com: “Bruce is doing biz with Wal-Mart? Kind of goes against everything he stands for.”

In an interview with Billboard, Mr. Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau, defended the release, saying Mr. Springsteen’s albums were already in Wal-Mart, which accounts for 15 percent of his sales. He also said: “We’re not doing any advertising for Wal-Mart. We haven’t endorsed Wal-Mart or anybody else. We’re letting Sony do its job.”

But Mr. Springsteen said the decision was made too hastily. “We were in the middle of doing a lot of things, it kind of came down and, really, we didn’t vet it the way we usually do,” he said. “We just dropped the ball on it.” Instead of offering the exclusive collection to Wal-Mart, “given its labor history, it was something that if we’d thought about it a little longer, we’d have done something different.” He added, “It was a mistake. Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be.”

"[W]e didn’t vet it the way we usually do."

"Vet"?

Oh, good grief.

Tom Daschle Tax Cheat

Barack Obama sure knows how to pick 'em.

Another cabinet pick has tax trouble.

It looks like Tom Daschle is an even bigger tax cheat than Tim Geithner.

And as usual, the damaging information is dumped very late on Friday afternoon.

From the New York Times:

President Obama’s pick for secretary of health and human services, Tom Daschle, failed to pay more than $140,000 in taxes, mostly for free use of a car and driver that had been provided to him by a prominent businessman and Democratic fund-raiser, administration officials said on Friday.

Mr. Daschle, concluding that he owed the taxes, filed amended returns and paid more than $100,000 in back taxes and interest on Jan. 2, the officials said.

Daschle is a crook.

There's no way this tax cheat would have paid these back taxes if Obama hadn't picked him to be a part of his cabinet.

The car and driver were provided by Leo Hindery Jr., a media and telecommunications executive who had been chairman of YES, the New York Yankees regional sports network. In 2005, Mr. Hindery founded a private equity firm known as InterMedia Advisors. Mr. Daschle was chairman of InterMedia’s advisory board.

In a financial disclosure statement filed this month with the Office of Government Ethics, Mr. Daschle reported that he had received large amounts of income from InterMedia, including more than $2 million in consulting fees and $182,520 in the form of “company-provided transportation.”

The belated tax payments help explain delays in the confirmation of Mr. Daschle, a former Senate Democratic leader who had been expected to win swift approval.

Despite the embarrassing admission — the second for one of President Obama’s cabinet choices — the White House and Democratic senators quickly released statements on Friday evening in Mr. Daschle’s support.

I love how the Times refers to Daschle's lawbreaking as an "embarrassing admission."

The guy is corrupt.

And Obama and Dem senators willing to support Daschle are just as slimy.

"New era of responsibility" keeps echoing in my head. What an absolute crock!

...An administration official said Mr. Daschle had paid $32,090 in back taxes and interest for 2005, $38,507 for 2006 and $69,570 for 2007.

The official said Mr. Daschle’s failure to pay the taxes was “a stupid mistake.”

We should not have to tolerate all these "stupid mistakes." These crooks are not fit to serve. Period.

A Senate aide said Mr. Daschle also had a tax issue that involved charitable contributions.

This is shocking. A Democrat involved in making charitable contributions is almost unheard of.

Administration officials said Mr. Daschle should not be penalized because he had discovered the tax liability himself, paid up and brought it to the attention of the Finance Committee, which is vetting his nomination. They said he realized in June 2008 that he might have a tax problem.

If that's the stand that administration officials are taking, then I think they are complicit in Daschle's corruption.

...The White House and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, affirmed their support for Mr. Daschle on Friday.

James P. Manley, a spokesman for Mr. Reid, said: “Senator Daschle will be confirmed as secretary of health and human services. He has a long and distinguished career in public service and is the best person to help reform health care in this country.”

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, used almost identical words, predicting that Mr. Daschle “will be confirmed.”

Sure, tax cheat Daschle will be confirmed. Even though he has other issues, some related to lobbying, Daschle will be confirmed.

The Democrats can do whatever they want. They can be as corrupt as they want to be.

...Mr. Obama has named Mr. Daschle to a second position, as director of a new White House Office of Health Reform. That job is not subject to Senate confirmation.

Obama has found a way to guarantee that Daschle will be at his side. Slick.

So just what is the change that Obama is bringing to Washington?

Here's a change: Obama has broken his promise about lobbyists working for him. He's changed his position on that.

This is also new: Obama and his comrades are excusing lawbreaking and setting a new standard -- Pay your taxes when you're nominated for a cabinet position. You can hold off until then. No problem.
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More Daschle Tax Issues

Reid "confident" free car won't wreck Daschle

NBC Rejects Pro-Life Ad for Super Bowl

NBC has rejected this pro-life ad from CatholicVote.org for the Super Bowl.

It's the same ad that ran on BET during its coverage of Barack Obama's inauguration.

Watch the ad that NBC has deemed unfit for the Super Bowl audience.

Obama's Life Story Now an Anti-Abortion Ad

In the 41-second ad, sponsored by catholicvote.org, a camera slowly zooms in on a fetus in a womb as these words appear on the screen: "This child's future is a broken home. He will be abandoned by his father. His single mother will struggle to raise him. Despite the hardships he will endure this child will become the 1st African-American President." The ad ends with a photograph of President Obama and this message: "Life: Imagine the Potential."

From WorldNetDaily:

[A]n NBC representative said the network is not interested in the commercial.

After days of discussion, the representative told Fidelis that NBC and the NFL will not run commercials involving "political advocacy or issues," Fidelis said in a statement today.

The video has become increasingly popular since it first ran on Black Entertainment Television in Chicago on Inauguration Day.

Fidelis President Brian Burch told the Washington Times that NBC was working with the company to purchase a commercial package in the nation's top 10 markets and four additional cities at the cost of $1.5 million to $1.8 million.

"We put out the call to our members and large pro-life benefactors who told us they would put up significant dollars to make this happen," Burch said. "I was told the ad was approved and then there were a number of attorneys working on it."

But he said NBC later reversed its decision.

"Then I was told they didn't want to run political or advocacy ads," Burch told the Times.

He claims that while NBC told his organization it would not allow advocacy ads, the network told PETA something entirely different when it rejected the group's sexually explicit commercial showing women having intimate moments with vegetables.

"There's no doubt that PETA is an advocacy group," Burch said in his statement. "NBC rejected PETA's ad for another reason altogether."

An e-mail posted on PETA's website from Victoria Morgan, vice president of advertising standards for NBC Universal, said: "The PETA spot submitted to Advertising Standards depicts a level of sexuality exceeding our standards."

Morgan provided "edits that need to be made" before the spot could be finalized to run during the Super Bowl.

"NBC claims it doesn't allow advocacy ads, but that's not true," Burch said. "They were willing to air an ad by PETA if they would simply tone down the sexual suggestiveness. Our ad is far less provocative, and hardly controversial by comparison."

He said, unlike the salacious PETA commercial, the pro-life ad is clean and has a positive message.

"There is nothing objectionable in this positive, life-affirming advertisement," Burch said. "We show a beautiful ultrasound, something NBC's parent company GE has done for years. We congratulate Barack Obama on becoming the first African-American President. And we simply ask people to imagine the potential of every human life."

Apparently, NBC finds it too threatening to run an ad that asks people to imagine the potential of every human life.

NBC's claim that it's not allowing advocacy ads is crap.

What would you call Matt Lauer's LIVE White House interview with Barack Obama, scheduled to air about one hour before kickoff?

If NBC is being consistent, there should be nothing said in that interview that could be interpreted as any sort of political advocacy. That's not going to happen. No way.

I hope NBC execs have warned Bruce Springsteen not to say or sing anything remotely political. No advocacy allowed on this Super Bowl broadcast.

I don't want to hear any lame anti-Sarah Palin or anti-George W. Bush cracks from Democrat loud-mouthpiece Keith Olbermann. I don't want to hear one slobbering word from him advocating Obama's politics and dissing conservatives.

When NBC rejected the "Life: Imagine the potential" ad, it set the bar very high for the Super Bowl broadcast to be an advocacy-free zone.

NBC set itself up to fail.

Ann Coulter and Keith Olbermann

From Jeff Poor, NewsBusters:

Coulter: Double Standard for Liberal Pundits; Calls Olbermann a '57-Year-Old Woman Trapped in a Man's Body'

"I think it's just another reminder of how the left hates free speech," Coulter said. "It really is strange how they go after speakers like this. I mean, there is no campaign by conservatives to shutdown Keith Olbermann. In fact, I wish more Americans would listen to him - to see the face of the left, the only 57-year-old woman trapped in a man's body to host his own TV show."

Eric Tavulares Gets 40 Years

Last July, Eric Tavulares strangled his 18-year-old girlfriend, Lauren Aljubouri.

Today, Tavulares was sentenced.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A 19-year-old man who strangled his girlfriend last summer today asked a judge for the maximum sentence and got it.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Conen sentenced Eric Tavulares to a minimum of 40 years in prison to be followed by 20 years of supervision. Tavulares had pleaded guilty in November to second degree reckless homicide in the death of Lauren Aljubouri, 18, his childhood sweetheart.

Tavulares dismissed earlier reports that put some of the blame on the movie "Natural Born Killers" – a film he had seen many times and that the couple had watched the evening of the attack. The film is about a couple who had survived traumatic childhoods, then became lovers and serial killers.

"I need to be punished," Tavulares said. "I believe this is best for me…I recommend the maximum sentence."

Conen, who noted that he rarely gives the maximum sentence, called it the most difficult case he has had in 12 years on the bench.

Conen said he does not know if the murder that occurred July 19 in the couple's east side apartment was the result of a decision to commit murder then suicide or if it was the result of a psychotic episode. "I have a hard time believing that the defendant woke up in the middle of the night and had some demon inside him that made him choke the life out of Lauren Aljubouri," Conen said.

If Tavulares snapped and that caused him to murder the young woman he described as his best friend, it would be more frightening, the judge said.

"I can't help but be afraid of what will happen if he is released some time in the near future," Conen said.

It's not unusual at sentencing for a murderer to express remorse, but it's surprising to me that Tavulares himself recommended that he receive the maximum sentence.

This 19-year-old will be spending most of his adult life in prison. Not a bright future.

Actions have consequences. Tavulares threw away his life when he took the life of Lauren Aljubouri.

He's getting what he deserves.

Jon Stewart and Conan O'Brien

Thursday, Jon Stewart was a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Not surprisingly, it was a Barack Obama love fest.

That's nauseating, but I manage to deal with the incessant yapping by celebrities about this golden age of Obama.

I marvel that celebrities are willing to expose how starstruck they are over Obama. They don't realize how incredibly naive they appear. It's embarrassing that they're so caught up in the cult of personality.

For example:

CONAN O'BRIEN: I want to talk about how the world has changed, you know...

JON STEWART: Hope.

O'BRIEN: ...in the last week. You just muttered "hope" now. HOPE!

STEWART: All of our enemies are now laid before us prostate [sic] on hope. They love the hope. They love the Obama.

O'BRIEN: It's very strange because you and I grew up in this culture of cynicism about politics, and then suddenly, everybody is...uh, seems delighted and happy, which is a good thing. I applaud that. It's...

STEWART: I guess.

O'BRIEN: It's strange. These are strange times.

STEWART: It is. But it's the kind of thing that you always thought... You know, you have this idea in your head like, oh I bet somebody could come along sometime and they could assume the reins of power and there would be a feeling of, kind of a sigh of relief and this feeling of hopefulness, but you never actually thought that that would be accomplished. But it actually has. I mean, 3 million people went down to the Mall in Washington to watch a guy take an oath on a Bible. I mean it's, it's, it's remarkable.

They actually believe what they're saying. It's like they're cult members.

After Stewart called President Bush a "dick," he and O'Brien talked about being in the physical presence of The One.

STEWART: Have you had a chance to meet him?

O'BRIEN: Yes. Yeah, we... Yes. Very good, very good, very smooth. We had him on our show in Chicago and he just, you know, I thought, 'Why don't you just take over as host of the show?' He's that good. He's a pro. He's excellent.

Good grief.

They worship Obama. Their infatuation is so extreme that it's funny.

What bugs me is that these entertainers are still using President Bush and Vice President Cheney as punching bags.

O'BRIEN: We all saw it in the comedy world. It's the last day of the Bush presidency. Dick Cheney, uh, who is just this character given to us by God, departing Washington suddenly in a wheelchair.

STEWART: I know!

O'BRIEN: And all of us were just... It was too easy. It was crazy.

STEWART: A black fedora... You literally thought he was gonna come out with a little, just a white hairless cat on his lap...

STEWART: This is an interesting fact that I learned about Dick Cheney. We had on President Jimmy Carter the other day... I did not realize this about Cheney... It is 20 to 25 degrees cooler around him. He's apparently like liquid nitrogen.

O'BRIEN: Birds flying near him stop and drop to the ground.

STEWART: He can absorb sunshine. And when he exhales, as we would do with carbon dioxide, he exhales a sort of acid-tinged mist that can burn through space age polymers.

Notice how respectful Stewart is when he mentions Carter.

Both Stewart and O'Brien go after Vice President Cheney with such intense disdain.

They are deranged.

They remind me of Joe Biden.

Rush Limbaugh, MoveOn, and Americans United for Change

Saul Alinsky would be so proud.

Barack Obama and his followers are using his Rules for Radicals to enact "change" (aka "dupe the American people").

They've chosen a polarizing figure, Rush Limbaugh, as the demon, their personification of the opposition.

Rather than talking about the merits of the so-called economic stimulus plan, really a massive spending bill of historic proportions, they want to make the debate about Limbaugh.

This is Lefty politics as usual. So much for all that "change," "new era" crap.

It's the same old, same old.

Brian Maloney, Radio Equalizer, has the transcript of the anti-Limbaugh radio attack ad.

ANNOUNCER: Listen to what Rush Limbaugh said about President Obama’s agenda and his jobs package:


RUSH LIMBAUGH: I HOPE HE FAILS!


ANNOUNCER: The Obama jobs bill overwhelmingly passed the House. But not one Republican voted yes. Every Republican member of the House chose to take Rush Limbaugh’s advice. Every Republican voted with Limbaugh. And against creating four million new American jobs.


We can understand why a extreme partisan like Rush Limbaugh wants President Obama’s jobs program to fail.


But the members of Congress elected to represent the citizens in their districts? That’s another matter.


Now the Obama plan goes to the Senate. And the question is:


Will our Senator, (insert name here), side with Rush Limbaugh too?


LIMBAUGH: I HOPE HE FAILS!


ANNOUNCER: Or, will he reject the partisanship and failed economic policies of the past, and stand up for the people of (state).

Call Senator (insert name here) now at (202) 224-3121. Tell him he represents you, not Rush Limbaugh.

Will FactCheck.org expose this ad as misleading for taking Limbaugh's "I hope he fails" comment out of context? FactCheck is supposed to be a non-partisan group, right?

The fact that Lefties feel compelled to run ads like this indicates just how desperate they are.

It shows how fearful they are of the American people learning the truth about the DEMOCRAT trillion dollar spending bill masquerading as an economic recovery plan.

TMJ4 Updates "Dirty Dining" - Brookfield Perkins

As usual, Courtny Gerrish did a "Dirty Dining" spot for the TMJ4 10:00 PM Thursday newscast.

As usual, the story was quickly added to the "Dirty Dining" webpage. The story was aired on January 29, 2009, and it was posted on the same date.

As usual, the Brookfield Perkins story was not returned to the page.

If you want to see the story that TMJ4 doesn't want you to see, a link is on my sidebar.

More details on TMJ4 covering up for the Brookfield Perkins health department violations here.

Someone should check up on that news assignment desk. Someone connected to the news assignment desk was lying to Brenda Serio, programming. She said that the Perkins story was being returned to the site. She apparently unknowingly passed on false information to me. Another possibility is that she flat-out lied, intentionally passing along deceptive information.

Anyway, don't look for last night's TMJ4 target, yet another small ETHNIC restaurant, to be scrubbed from the TMJ4 website. That written report and the accompanying video won't disappear. I'm certain of that.

No, it's there to stay.

The Brookfield Perkins report, of course, is another story altogether. That's not coming back to the TMJ4 website.

Look for TMJ4 to continue its pattern of choosing small ethnic establishments to highlight on "Dirty Dining." They don't have the resources or the connections to fight back.

Lena Taylor and the Traffic Citation

UPDATE, February 15, 2009: Politics a factor in voiding state senator's ticket
__________________

It seems that recently there have been lots of instances of elected officials abusing their positions, power, and privileges.

The latest: State Senator Lena Taylor

Daniel Bice writes:

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn decided Thursday to reinstate a traffic ticket against state Sen. Lena Taylor after the Milwaukee Democrat had successfully lobbied lower-ranking officials to drop it.

"Citation L172194-1 will be reissued to the Senator," Flynn said in a statement. "Those persons issued citations may pursue all the legal remedies available to them to contest the citation."

Taylor, who ran unsuccessfully for county executive last year, didn't return calls - but she issued a statement that said she'd accepted the citation and had paid it.

The twice-elected senator was pulled over during rush hour last Friday evening after two cops said they witnessed her crossing the center line and driving southbound in the northbound lane of N. 35th St. near W. State St.

Here is what Officer Seann Cleveland wrote in abbreviated fashion on the ticket:

"We both observed the listed veh cross to the left of the double solid yellow line and into the N/B lane. The veh continue driving S/B passing several vehicles so she could make a left hand turn into the drive way of 1018 N. 35th St. It should be noted this was just north of W. State St., which is a very busy intersection."

Cleveland described Taylor as "very irate" after she was stopped.

"(Taylor) stated . . . we 'shouldn't waste our energy for the stop and she can't be expected to wait for the light,' " the officer wrote. "Taylor was very argumentative and appeared her intent was to provoke an argument w/ us officers."

If you hadn't gotten the picture already, Cleveland wrote that the 42-year-old pol was "very argumentative" once again after she received the ticket for driving on the wrong side of the center line. The ticket was for $121.60 and could count four points on her license.

Taylor, a practicing attorney, had an earlier run-in with cops on the Saturday before election day in November. In that case, she was detained by officers and advised about the state electioneering laws but not charged or ticketed.

...Asked if the lawmaker called or visited the Milwaukee Police Department, spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz directed the question to Taylor.

But sources within the department said she did contact officials at the 3rd District headquarters to complain about the citation.

Not long after, Acting Capt. Edith Hudson rescinded Taylor's ticket.

All of this happened while Flynn was busy in Washington, D.C., this week. No Quarter contacted his office Thursday about the decision to drop Taylor's ticket.

In response, Flynn declined an interview request but issued a statement late Thursday.

In it, he said he first learned of the situation when notified by Assistant Chief Gregory Habeck. Hudson had given Habeck a report detailing her decision to let Taylor off the hook.

The assistant chief reviewed the report and concluded that Hudson's action "did not appear to be consistent with department policy," the statement said. After reading her report and department policy, the statement continued, "the Chief concurred with Assistant Chief Habeck's assessment."

Here's a line from the ticket:

THE DRIVER, TAYLOR, WAS VERY IRATE AND STATED SHE DIDN'T FEEL WE "SHOULDN'T WASTE OUR ENERGY FOR THE STOP AND SHE CAN'T BE EXPECTED TO WAIT FOR THE LIGHT."

I can understand why Flynn reinstated the ticket.

I'm getting sick of this. I'm tired of hearing about elected officials taking advantage of the taxpayers to foot the bill for their personal travel expenses.

Now this incident with Taylor is a case of an official demanding that she's above the law. That reflects very poorly on her character and her qualifications to serve.

This woman is a state senator. She ran to be the Milwaukee County Executive. (Thankfully, she was defeated by Scott Walker.)

I don't think it's too much to expect our elected officials to respect the law, nor is it too much to expect them to willingly be held accountable after breaking the law.

I wonder if Taylor has had other traffic violations dismissed after throwing a fit.

If I had to guess, I would say this wasn't the first time.

Springsteen Super Bowl Set List

UPDATE, February 1, 2009: Springsteen Super Bowl Reviews

Set list:

"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"

"Born to Run"

"Working on a Dream"

"Glory Days"

__________________

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- In his first news conference in more than 20 years, The Boss was as cool as ever.

Wearing black jeans, a black crewneck sweater and black boots, Springsteen and his band charmed a standing-room-only crowd by joking about his lack of football knowledge, that the group is still together—and its members still alive—and the tremendous year he's having personally and professionally.

...Springsteen, for years, had turned down invitations to play the Super Bowl, unsure of the legitimacy of such a performance. After all, for many years the halftime show was made up of local and college marching bands and drill teams.

But Springsteen said the opportunity to promote the album, and the upgraded production team that has given the invitation a prestige factor, changed his mind.

"Initially, it was sort of a novelty and so it didn't quite feel right," he explained. "But it was just like, this is the year. ... Bands of our generation, you can sort of be seen on a stage like this or, like, not seen. There's not a lot of middle places. It is a tremendous venue."

Springsteen thought he was too good to play the Super Bowl? He used to be unsure of the legitimacy of such a performance?

Good grief.

Obviously, he got over that. I guess this time the opportunity to promote his new album was an offer he couldn't refuse.

Have you seen the ads popping up on the Internet?





It's weird that this would "feel right."

...The performance is expected to be a teaser for the upcoming tour, and scores of Las Vegas sports books are taking bets on the set list. Asked who ultimately decides what songs will be played, Springsteen staked his claim as leader of the band.

"I'm the Boss! The Boss decides what we play!" he yelled. "Nobody else decides. People suggest. Hint. Beg. Cajole. But I decide."

Pittsburgh receiver Hines Ward said he was looking forward to the performance, and even had a song request.

"I love Bruce. I hope he plays 'Born in the USA.' He has a great voice when he says, 'Boorrrn,' " Ward said. "He has a lot of swagger about himself. He's very confident. When he's up there performing, it's all about him."

Springsteen only offered one slight teaser, vowing to pack the bands' usual emotion and energy into their brief performance.

Springsteen definitely is approaching the 12 minute show as a commercial for his new album. It's self-promotion, not that there's anything wrong with that. It is what it is.

"I'm the Boss! The Boss decides what we play!"

Oh, no.

I hope "the Boss" wants to please his very diverse audience rather than himself. This isn't the venue for any political rambling.

Here's some information on set list bets.

Jeff Haney writes:

Those lists of odds published by offshore gambling emporiums asking bettors to wager on which song Bruce Springsteen will sing to begin his Super Bowl halftime show leave me with mixed emotions.

...For the record, “Born in the USA” and “Glory Days” are co-favorites at 2-1 to open Sunday’s show, followed by “The Rising” (4-1), “Born to Run” (5-1), “The Wrestler” (5-1), “Radio Nowhere” (8-1) and “I’m on Fire” (12-1).

The betting lines are from Bodog, based in Antigua, though other betting shops in “faraway places” — to borrow on the classic modern-day euphemisms popularized in Las Vegas — have released their own odds.

One place gamblers cannot legally wager on the set list is Nevada, where state regulations dictate bets must be based on what happens in a sporting event. Betting on the results of song selections, commercials, awards and the like is verboten.

And that’s for the best. Too often the most exotic — mostly nonsports — proposition wagers we hear about are essentially advertising tools, existing to generate publicity for their creators rather than a healthy two-way exchange of money at the betting windows.

I didn't know that in Nevada gamblers couldn't legally wager on the set list or things like that, only sporting events.

I wasn't aware that there were such restrictions.

Something rather embarrassing to come out of Springsteen's Super Bowl news conference was his complete lack of interest in football, America's game, and his shameless interest in using the Super Bowl to promote his album.

I give him points for being so honest.

"If there's going to be any questions about football, this is going to be the shortest press conference ever," said Springsteen, who was surrounded by the members of the E Street Band. "I don't know anything about football."

Indeed, during the 20-minute news conference — his first in more than 30 years, he said — the New Jersey-bred rocker spoke only briefly about football, mentioning the Steelers once, and the Cardinals not even once.

"When I hear Steelers, I think Terry Bradshaw," Springsteen said. "When he retired he said, 'I'm going to live like my dog.' ... And that's about the extent of my knowledge of football."

Fortunately, Springsteen is in Tampa to perform the halftime show, not to offer on-air analysis.

Springsteen, who has been rumored in past years as a possible Super Bowl act, was blunt in explaining why he chose to perform this year.

"Because we have a new album coming out, dummy!" he said. "We have a new record — in stores!"

Not good.
_________________

Here's video of Springsteen bashing President Bush as he promotes his new album:



Transcript

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: We lived through a Freudian nightmare in the past eight years here in the United States. It didn't take consideration of the past. It was a historically blind administration.

Thousands and thousands of people died, and lives were ruined. Terrible, terrible things occurred because there was no sense of history, and there was no sense of the past as living and real in your daily life.

My records always combine the personal and the political, and there's not a lot of politics on the record. There's context, but not a lot of politics. But those forces are enormous forces in people's lives, in nations' lives. And they play on everybody, and everybody has to deal with them.

Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, whatever.

I don't think we should have to deal with politics, "those enormous forces," during the Super Bowl halftime show.
______________

Springsteen at the Super Bowl

John Romano: Can’t a song be a song? Or does it have to have ideology?

Bruce Springsteen and I both released albums this week. Mine is “London Paris” by The Sugarmen and Bruce’s is “Working on a Dream.” You’d be hard pressed to think of two more starkly different approaches to recording. Bruce has admitted that his hatred of President Bush inspired his latest CD. “London Paris” was inspired by traveling with the band between two major European cities. That’s right. You guessed it. Prague and Cologne.

In my opinion, what worked about rock in the 60’s and 70’s was that the music really was asking questions of society. There was a clear difference between those in power and the musicians who rebelled against the norm. Some of it was show for sure, but who can argue with the power and emotion of “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye?

I’m neither naïve nor arrogant enough to think that music can do anything close to that today. Music is again about the simple pleasure of digging cool sounds and lyrics.

Watching Bruce at Obama rallies, nervously strumming his guitar and pontificating about the “lost America” of his youth, you couldn’t help but think about him heading back to his mansion afterward. What is he really screaming about?

And then contrast that with the band and I gladly driving 13 hours on the wrong side of the road in the rain to get to a gig in London after playing one night in Scotland. Very odd. Wouldn’t logic dictate that the musician in the smelly van should be the one railing against the system?

I’ll continue to make the best records I can and tour with the band. However, I’ll always leave direct political opinions out of my music. I’ve learned enough living in Hollywood as an artist and a conservative that politics is like curry powder: add a drop and the whole dish tastes like one thing and loses all subtlety.

Campbell Brown: Obama's Hypocrisy Showing

Transcript

Unfortunately, we are again asking the president to explain why exactly he announced, with great fanfare, new ethics rules if he had no intention of abiding by them.

The Obama administration is yet again asking for a waiver to its very own rules about hiring lobbyists.

This time, it is the new treasury secretary, Tim Geithner. He wants a former lobbyist for Goldman Sachs to be his top aide at the Treasury Department.

My view is simple: Mr. President, if you want to hire former lobbyists because you think they are in fact the best people to do the job, then hire former lobbyists. Just don't hold a big news conference first to tell us how your administration is going to be so different from previous administrations in that you won't be hiring lobbyists.

Don't make your disdain for lobbyists and your pledges that they won't wield influence in your administration a centerpiece of your campaign.

It's the hypocrisy and the double-talk that makes so many of us so cynical. Do what you think is best for the country. Just be straight with us about how you're going to do it.

It was a short honeymoon.

David Obey and the Stimulus

There he goes again.

David Obey has added to his lengthy list of embarrassments.

Actually, this latest Obey disgrace really looks bad.

Charlie Sykes points out Obey's Pork, as cited in the Washington Times:

A top House Republican is demanding an investigation into whether the more than $2 billion for national parks in the House stimulus package is proper in light of the fact that the chief lobbyist for the National Parks Conservation Association is the son of House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey.

NPCA is a major player in advocating for national parks funding, and its senior vice president for government affairs is Craig Obey, son of the Wisconsin Democrat who has long been his party's top Appropriations Committee member.

The money included in the stimulus bill that passed Mr. Obey's committee - $2.25 billion - was about equal to the National Park Service's total yearly budget, and would be a staggering increase and almost three times the $802 million that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved for park spending in its stimulus bill.

On Wednesday evening, the House passed the $819 billion stimulus bill by a 244-188 vote, though every Republican in the chamber and 11 Democrats voted against it.

Republicans said a bill of this size presented too many opportunities for mischief, pointing to the parks funding as one such case. Just before the vote, Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the top Republican on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called for an investigation into the parks money.

"It really does beg the question of, is this an earmark, is this a family connection and should it have been disclosed at least in the spirit of what the Democrats said they wanted, and the answer is it should have been disclosed," Mr. Issa said.

Obama promised transparency and accountability and blah, blah, blah.

I guess Obey didn't get the memo.

Bret Baier also questions Obey's family connection.

Obey's rancid pork is bringing a lot of unwelcome attention to Wisconsin.

This massive so-called stimulus bill is a mess.

Will that keep Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl from supporting the Democrat Wish List?

Of course not.
_________________

Earlier this week, the New York Times wrote a piece on David Obey's contribution to the gigantic so-called stimulus bill.

When House Republicans look at the $825 billion economic package headed toward a vote this week, they do not see President Obama. To them, the bill personifies Representative David R. Obey, the prickly Wisconsin Democrat who is chairman of the Appropriations Committee and has spent 40 years in Congress as a champion of federal spending.

Included in the package is $30 billion to subsidize health insurance for those who lose their jobs, $20 billion to accelerate new health care information technology, $1 billion to renovate community health centers, $600 million to train health care workers, $15 billion to increase college Pell Grants and $4 billion to help communities buy and improve distressed properties.

Indeed, it was Mr. Obey, the third-most-senior member of the House, who, in large measure, shaped the bill, in concert with other House Democratic leaders. And though Mr. Obama has embraced the bill, not a single House Republican has lent it support. The president himself is scheduled to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday to try to address Republican concerns that Mr. Obey and others are using the legislation to push vast amounts of money into health care and other favored initiatives.

“It is pretty obvious we are funding the chairman’s priorities,” said Representative Jerry Lewis of California, the senior Republican on the appropriations panel. Mr. Lewis described Mr. Obey as driven by a “pent-up desire to spend money in existing programs.”

But the plan is expected to pass with or without Republican support, and Mr. Obey makes no apologies for its contents. An essential part of responding to any economic crisis, he said, is looking out for those on the receiving end of the turmoil.

“You have to take into account the fact that there are certain people in this society getting crushed by this economy,” said Mr. Obey, whose work on the package left him worn down and struggling to regain his voice. “They lose their jobs, they lose their health insurance, they lose their ability to keep their kids in college.

“If you didn’t have two million additional people out of work, you wouldn’t have to be looking for ways to help them. What the hell do you do if the economy goes to hell and two or three or four million more people are out of work?”

Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, the senior Republican on the Budget Committee, sees it differently. “This is 1936 economics,” Mr. Ryan said. “But it reflects David’s ideology and his economic doctrine. They took everything in their file cabinet that has been piling up for 100 years, threw it in this bill and called it economic stimulus.”

Mr. Obey, 70, the product of a Catholic blue-collar upbringing in Wausau, said that if he had sole ownership, he would have turned out a costlier measure with more health spending. He said his role was to fashion a package that could balance the competing interests and ideas of a range of lawmakers, the new administration and outside groups, and roll it into a bill that could pass — and lift the economy.

“This is my honest effort,” he said, “to find a point of equilibrium where a majority of people in the place can feel comfortable with what we have done, and then you hope it works.”

Obey's "honest effort"? "Honest"?

That's very questionable.

One thing to remember: This legislation is all Democrat.

The Republicans in the Senate need to send the same strong message to Obama and the Democrats that the House Republicans did. They should vote against this enormous spending bill.

Buh-Bye, DEMOCRAT Rod Blagojevich

It's over for another corrupt DEMOCRAT, Rod Blagojevich.

Illinois Senate Kicks Blagojevich Out of Office

Illinois senators stripped Gov. Rod Blagojevich of power Thursday in the final act of a political drama that handed the reins of state government to his estranged lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn, and likely will end Blagojevich's career in politics.

Senators voted unanimously to convict Blagojevich and bar him from holding political office in the state again. Shortly after the vote, Quinn was sworn in as Illinois' new governor.

The outcome was never in doubt. In fact, Quinn went to the state Capitol earlier in the day to prepare to be sworn in.

Blagojevich said he was saddened and disappointed by the Senate's decision but not at all surprised.

"I predicted it," he told a pack of reporters outside his home Thursday evening. "The fix was in from the very beginning."

Blagojevich vowed to keep fighting for ordinary citizens in the private sector and to clear his name.

"The fight goes on," he said. "Just because I'm not governor doesn't mean I won't keep fighting for the causes I've always fought for."

Blagojevich is delusional.

"The fix was in from the very beginning."

He has to be kidding.

Of course, Blago did score a victory in that he was the one to select the person to fill Barack Obama's empty Senate seat, Roland Burris.

But he gave it away. He didn't succeed in his plan to sell the seat.

Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.

Blago did accomplish something that even the great Barack Obama hasn't been able to do. Blago managed to really unite Democrats and Republicans, 59-0.

Mr. Obama, Turn Down That Thermostat

Barack Obama apparently considers himself exempt from his "new era of responsibility."

I thought we were supposed to care about the planet and cut back on our energy use.

According to Obama, we're in the worst economic crisis of lives, but he cranks up the heat, REALLY cranks up the heat.

Who pays the heating bill for the Oval Office? Obama? Private donors?

No, we are.

I don't want my tax dollars and the planet's precious resources wasted on overheating the White House, MY house.

From the New York Times:

The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.

“He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”

Thus did an ironclad rule of the George W. Bush administration — coat and tie in the Oval Office at all times — fall by the wayside, only the first of many signs that a more informal culture is growing up in the White House under new management. Mr. Obama promised to bring change to Washington and he has — not just in substance, but in presidential style.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg is so gaga over Obama and the new administration that she apparently doesn't realize her hypocrisy.

What's this idiocy from Axelrod about excusing Obama's excess by saying Obama is from Hawaii? He hasn't lived in Hawaii for any of his adult life.

How long has Obama lived in Illinois?

Wasn't it just on Wednesday that Obama was teasing Washingtonians about their wimpiness when it comes to dealing with winter weather?

Yes, it was.

President Barack Obama didn't take long to insult the weakness of Washington when it comes to winter.

When snow and ice Wednesday forced the closure at Sasha and Malia's school, Sidwell Friends, the president took the opportunity to praise his family's courage over the Chicago cold.

"My children's school was canceled today, because of what, some ice?" Obama said during a photo opportunity with economic leaders, who began chuckling. "As my children pointed out, in Chicago, school is never canceled. In fact, my 7-year-old pointed out that you go out for recess. You wouldn't even stay indoors."

Obama said he would have to instill "some flinty Chicago toughness" into Washingtonians.

"When it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things," he said.

So, Obama can tough it out and handle the cold EXCEPT in his Oval Office.

There must be some of Jimmy Carter's old cardigans around the White House. Obama should put on a sweater or keep his jacket on.



You're not in Hawaii anymore, Mr. Obama. Put on some clothes if you're cold.

This "liking it hot" is really lame, really hypocritical.

President Bush likes the heat, too, but he didn't turn the Oval Office into a sauna. If he had, Lefties and environmentalists would have had a fit.

Ed Morrissey points out Obama's stunning inconsistency:

Many people in America, especially where I live, would like to heat their homes to a comfort level where sweaters and coats become unnecessary. However, Obama and the Democrats want to impose ruinous taxes and penalties on energy production and fuel that produces carbon dioxide — a naturally-occurring element — and make that choice economically unbearable for us. In fact, candidate Obama spoke directly to that end in May of this year:

“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,” Obama said.

“That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen,” he added.

Video here.

Obama is setting a horrible example for the American people.

Talk about the height of irresponsibility! Again, to use Obama's own words, "It is shameful."



(h/t Michelle Malkin and Ed Morrissey)

Shoe Monument Honors Bush Attacker, Muntazer al-Zaidi

A statue built for Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who hurled his shoes at former U.S. president George Bush, is seen in Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) Baghdad, January 27, 2009. An Iraqi town has unveiled a giant monument of a shoe in honour of the journalist who threw his footwear at former U.S. President George W. Bush. The letters on the sign reads "Muntazer is fasting until the sword breaks his fast with blood, silent until our mouths speak the truth". Picture taken January 27, 2009. REUTERS/Sabah al-Bazee (IRAQ)



REUTERS/Sabah al-Bazee (IRAQ)

Journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi is being honored with a giant shoe monument, to immortalize his attack on President Bush.

TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) -- An Iraqi town has unveiled a giant monument of a shoe in honor of the journalist who threw his footwear at former U.S. President George W. Bush.

The two-meter (six-foot) high statue, unveiled Thursday in former dictator Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, depicts a bronze-colored shoe, filled with a plastic shrub. "Muntazer: fasting until the sword breaks its fast with blood; silent until our mouths speak the truth," reads an inscription, in honor of journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who hurled his shoes at Bush and called him a "dog" at a news conference during the former president's final visit to Iraq.

Zaidi has been held in jail in Baghdad since the incident, facing charges of assaulting a visiting head of state.

Fatin Abdul Qader, head of an orphanage and children's organization in the town, said the one-and-a-half-ton monument by artist Laith al-Amiri was titled "statue of glory and generosity."

"This statue is the least expression of our appreciation for Muntazer al-Zaidi, because Iraqi hearts were comforted by his throw," she said.

When Democrats get wind of this, I bet they'll be sorry they didn't think to tuck funds into the so-called economic stimulus plan to erect a monument like the one in Tikrit here at home, perhaps in Hollywood.

Who knows? Maybe it was part of their plans for restoring the National Mall.

I'm sure Left-wing nutjobs will love the fact that a monument to honor the journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush was unveiled today in Iraq.

I'm sure it will be fodder for late night talk show comics.

That's sick.

I can understand the people of Saddam Hussein's hometown doing this. What I really can't relate to is all the Americans who enjoyed the sight of a man throwing shoes at the U.S. President.

How would those Lefties react if Barack Obama were treated that way when on foreign soil?

How would those Lefties react if conservatives replayed the video of the attack endlessly and mocked Obama, cheering on the assailant?

We know. They would be horrified.

Hypocrites.

It's the hypocrisy of Left-leaning America that really bugs me.



Girls stand next to a sculpture of a shoe that serves as a monument to the shoes thrown at then-US president George W. Bush in Tikrit, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009. The shoe-hurling last month at Bush spawned a flood of Web quips, political satire and street rallies across the Arab world. Now, it's inspired a work of art. (AP Photo)


Read that AP caption:

"The shoe-hurling last month at Bush spawned a flood of Web quips, political satire and street rallies across the Arab world. Now, it's inspired a work of art."

"A work of art"?

Student Stabbed at South Milwaukee High School

From the School District of South Milwaukee:

At about 7:15 this morning, there was an incident at the high school involving two students that resulted in an injury to one of the students. Immediately following the incident, the students at both the middle school and the high school were placed on lock-down following procedures in which they had been trained.

The injured student was transported to the hospital where he is described as being conscious and alert as he undergoes treatment for possible internal injuries resulting from a single knife wound. The student believed to be the person responsible for the injury was taken into custody shortly following the incident. (The parents of both students have been notified and are caring for the needs of their children.)

As of 8:27 a.m., students have been released from lock-down and have been returned to their classes. Counselors will be available for students and staff for as long as is necessary. Students, staff, police and medical responders are to be commended for their quick and effective responses.

A press conference was held at 9:30 a.m. for the purpose of keeping informed all persons in need of this information. This web page will be updated for as long as it is deemed helpful.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

Police said the weapon was a wood-handle kitchen knife with an 8-inch blade.

...From what authorities have learned, the boys were involved in a casual conversation at a table in a pod section at the north end of the school, about five minutes into the school day and before the start of classes. Ewald said that in an "unpredictable way" the suspect pulled the knife and stabbed the other boy in the back.

The victim was able to walk into a hallway after being stabbed and received help from a teacher, according to Ewald.

The suspect dropped the knife inside the school and was caught on camera fleeing the building. He was later arrested at his home by South Milwaukee police without incident, according to Lt. Cary Fischer.

"We knew he was no longer there," Ewald said. "Even though it was a terrible thing to have happened, the school was safe following the instance."

Ewald said the freshman boy is a high school swimmer. He said the junior is new to the high school this year but has not had any record of trouble.

"The student has no record with us where he created any kind of issue that could predict something like this," Ewald said.

This is a really strange incident.

The wood-handle kitchen knife with an 8-inch blade is an odd weapon to bring to school.

The circumstances of the attack, the freshman and the junior having a casual conversation, are unusual.

The account that the junior stabbed the boy in the back in an "unpredictable way" also paints a weird picture.

It appears the stabbing didn't occur during a physical fight between the two boys. Very strange.

Thankfully, the victim is "doing well" and the student responsible for the stabbing has been arrested.
________________

Video.

Schlitz Brewed Again in Milwaukee

GO FOR THE GUSTO!

The beer that made Milwaukee famous is being brewed in Milwaukee again.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Once again, Schlitz is being brewed and bottled in Milwaukee - at the MillerCoors brewery.

That's the word today from Pabst Brewing Co., which owns the Schlitz brand but contracts with MillerCoors to brew it.

Pabst last year revived the old formula for Schlitz, which Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. changed in the 1970s - a factor that led to that company's demise in 1982. Pabst dubbed it "Classic 1960s formula," and made it available in bottles. That marked the first time Schlitz was sold in bottles in several years.

...Pabst still contracts to brew the canned stuff at other facilities. But the bottled Schlitz sales in the second half of 2008 helped Pabst mark its best sales trend since 1999, according to trade publication Beer Marketer's Insights.

The "classic" Schlitz had been brewed and bottled at the MillerCoors facility in Eden, N.C. But production this month shifted to Milwaukee, where special equipment to provide the beer's hops was installed last fall, according to Pabst spokesman Mark Treichel.

Check out the vintage ads.

When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer!

ILLEGAL Immigrant Stimulus

The Democrat so-called "American Recovery and Reinvestment plan" is floundering.

A new day, a new wasteful aspect of the plan uncovered.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The $800 billion-plus economic stimulus measure making its way through Congress could steer government checks to illegal immigrants, a top Republican congressional official asserted Thursday.

The legislation, which would send tax credits of $500 per worker and $1,000 per couple, expressly disqualifies nonresident aliens, but it would allow people who don't have Social Security numbers to be eligible for the checks.

Undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternative number. A House-passed version of the economic recovery bill and one making its way through the Senate would allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number, to qualify for the tax credits.

...The GOP official voiced concerns about the latest economic aid measure on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Good Lord.

This legislation is an absolute mess.

It's exactly what I expected with Barack Obama and the Democrats in power.

A way to stimulate the economy would be to get tough on ILLEGAL immigrants and eliminate the burden on the American taxpayer to provide health care and education and other services to people in the country ILLEGALLY.

Handing out tax credits (aka welfare checks) to ILLEGAL immigrants isn't the way to help the economy.
____________

Watch Nancy Pelosi "stammer through defense Of $335 million for STD education in stimulus bill."

I can't wait to see her attempt to justify government checks for ILLEGAL immigrants.

Zogby: Obama's 52% Approval Rating

It looks like close to half the people in the country have not accepted Barack Obama as their savior.

From Zogby International:

Post-inauguration survey finds 52% give President Obama positive job approval ratings, while 19% remain unsure

Just 36% of likely voters have positive feelings about the direction the U.S. is headed in the first days of President Barack Obama's new administration, but there has been a dramatic increase from the 14% who felt the country was headed in the right direction earlier this month, a new Zogby Interactive poll shows. Fewer than half (45%) now believe the country is on the wrong track, compared to 70% who said so in early January.

This post-inauguration survey finds nearly two-thirds of Democrats (62%) believe the country is headed in the right direction, compared to 31% of political independents and just 9% of Republicans who say the same. While the vast majority of Republicans (76%) now take a negative view of the country's direction, fewer than half of independents (45%) and one in five Democrats (19%) agree. The Zogby Interactive survey of 3,684 likely voters nationwide was conducted Jan. 22-26, 2009, and carries a margin of error of +/- 1.7 percentage points.

...Just over half (52%) give Obama a positive job performance rating for his first official days in office, while 29% give his job performance a negative rating, and another 19% are not sure. Democrats (80%) and political independents (52%) are most likely to give Obama high job performance marks, compared to just 17% of Republicans. One in four Republicans (25%) and nearly as many independents (22%) were unsure about his job performance so far and did not give him a ranking, compared to half as many Democrats (13%). Younger likely voters, age 18-24, are more likely to give Obama positive marks (56%), and are most likely to have made up their minds early, with just 10% who are unsure about his job performance so far. Among weekly Wal-Mart shoppers, 42% give the new president favorable job scores, compared to 69% of likely voters who never shop there. Just 39% of NASCAR fans give Obama a positive job performance rating.

It's interesting that only 42% of Wal-Mart shoppers approve of Obama's performance. Obama is supposed to be the champion of the working class, promising to "spread the wealth around."

It also looks like Obama needs to reach out to NASCAR fans if he's hoping to unify the country. Would getting the "Gentlemen, Start your Engines!" gig help?

I don't think so.

Obama is a liberal extremist. All the collectible plates and coins and other Obama memorabilia in the world can't hide that fact.

The Zogby Interactive survey of 3,684 likely voters nationwide was conducted Jan. 22-26, 2009, and carries a margin of error of +/- 1.7 percentage points.

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More Zogby poll results:

Congressional job approval has received a big boost, and now stands at 20%, up from a paltry 4% of likely voters who gave Congress a job performance rating of "excellent" or "good" just a few weeks ago. Democrats are more likely to give Congress positive job ratings (39%), compared to political independents (15%) and Republicans (2%).

While the job approval for Congress has jumped, I don't think a 20% approval rating calls for a victory dance.
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FOX News Poll

Texas Road Signs Warn of Zombies

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From the Austin Statesman:

Someone reprogrammed two city construction road signs near the University of Texas early Monday morning in an attempt to warn Austin of an imminent zombie attack.

Messages that typically alert Lamar Boulevard drivers to a detour for Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard splashed several warnings like “Caution! Zombies Ahead!” and “Nazi Zombies! Run!!!”

As he drove south on Lamar, traffic controller Bruce Jones saw the first sign flash the Nazi zombies message at 6 a.m. and wheeled his truck around for another look. Then he said he noticed that the second sign, directed at northbound drivers, had also been tampered with.

Jones, who has one of only two keys to the locked access panels on the portable signs, said that the hacker broke into the panels on each sign and bypassed the passwords before leaving five different zombie messages and even changing one of the passwords. Jones said he had to wait until 8 a.m. to call the manufacturing company to figure out how to override the hacker’s work. He speculated that the hacker could be a computer genius from UT.

...The hacking occurred within weeks of various articles appearing online with descriptions of how to hack into these road signs — which point out that such an act is illegal.

Is this funny?


(Photo/Chris Nakashima-Brown)

Sure, in a way. But was this just a harmless prank? No harm, no foul?

Although it had to be a strange sight, signs warning of zombies, tampering with road signs is a serious matter.

Messing with the messages on road signs could result in injury or death. Thankfully, no one was injured or killed in this case, although some particularly vulnerable people, those with an intense fear of zombies, may have suffered psychological distress.

I don't think the issue is the "Zombies Ahead!" message. What matters is that the messages on the signs were illegally altered.

It amazes me how immature, stupid, and selfish these computer "geniuses" can be.

They have such little regard for the safety and the rights of others.

Obama's Stimulating Cocktail Party

Just one week in office and Barack Obama is breaking out the booze to schmooze.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama was welcoming House and Senate leaders from both parties to the White House for drinks Wednesday night as he continues to lobby lawmakers to pass his economic recovery bill despite stiff GOP opposition.

The getting-to-know-you-better session was to get under way after the House voted 244-188 to approve Obama's $819 billion stimulus bill. It was a swift victory for the new president, but it was achieved without a single Republican vote despite Obama's heavy push for a bipartisan show of support on the measure.

Obama must have needed a stiff drink after he was completely rejected by House Republicans.

...House Republican leader John Boehner, of Ohio, one of the bill's lead opponents, was among the two dozen lawmakers invited to the White House.

"Someone reported that this was a celebration party for passage of the bill in the House," Boehner joked to reporters before joining his Republican colleagues in a unanimous vote against the president. "If so, I don't know why they'd want the skunk at the garden party. But I'm going to go and smile."

That's funny. I'm glad Boehner is comfortable as the skunk.

...Besides Boehner, the House guests included Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C.; and Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va. The Senate guest list included Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; and Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

That's a rather intimate gathering, not really much of a party, as it's being billed.

But there certainly is reason to celebrate. The Republicans had a great day, accomplishing a great deal in redefining themselves as fiscally responsible.

Cheers!
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More details on Obama's White House bash:

Here's the list of President Obama's invited guests to the White House cocktail party tonight -- essentially the bipartisan bicameral leadership of the House and Senate.

Six House Democrats, six House Republicans, six Senate Democrats, six Senate Republicans. Their spouses are invited as well.

Hors d'œuvres -- chicken curry, wagyu steak -- will be served in addition to drinks.

President Obama, it should be noted, is not a particularly big drinker, though he has been known to enjoy a vodka martini time and again.

In addition to the congressional leaders below, several senior White House staffers will be in attendance, including press secretary Robert Gibbs, senior adviser David Axelrod, senior adviser Pete Rouse, and deputy chief of staff Mona Sutphen.

The party will come after the House passes the president's stimulus package with no Republican support, which could make for some interesting cocktail party chatter.

Michelle Malkin notes that Obama treated his guests to some pricey grub.

Yeah, “wagyu steak.” $100 per serving delicacy. I had to look it up, too.

On the heels of the most expensive inaugural celebration in American history and passage of a trillion-dollar spending binge that will saddle future generations with unprecedented debt, perhaps President Obama might consider cutting back on such indulgences.

Or is the White House exempt from “shared sacrifice,” Mr. President?

“New era of responsibility?”

Not so much.

Way to sacrifice, Barack!

You have to start walking the walk.
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