Welcome, one and all to the most intense nightly read anywhere on the sphere… The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble
- TALK TO THE HAND: All kinds of nonsense from the left about a few words written on Palin’s hand. I even heard that magnificent moron, Don Imus, hacking up a hairball about people who defend Palin’s “hand written”, three word note versus complaining about Obama’s Teleprompter addiction. OK, maybe he was trying to be funny. He didn’t succeed, however.Obama is supposed to be smart, and able to think on his feet. Palin, on the other hand is an idiot, or so the left likes to tell us… and there are some Republicans who tend to agree with that mentally limited assessment. But consider this….Who is demonstrably the smarter? One who works from a few handwritten words, and vamps on that for an extended, ad well delivered speech, or one who seemingly never is able to look up from the teleprompter (Even at an elementary school) except to gaze, between utterances, at the crowd, meaningfully… with the meaning clearly being “Here I am, admire my genius”?There seems to me more than a streak of desperation in the left’s complaints about Palin. Those are no more clearly demonstrated than they are with this incident. Of course if one compares the pattern of attacks on Palin vs the pattern of attacks on Bush, the similarity of tossing anything they can at their opponent, no matter how ridiculous. Michelle has some thoughts.
- STATE OF THE UNION BOUNCE: Rasmussen says Oabama’s polling numbers are on their way back down after people began to understand that the speech was just that… a speech. Empty words. For all the talk about jobs, the only jobs that have been saved or created are government jobs. That reality has started to catch up with the White House. His approval is now down to 44%
- DC SHUTDOWN: I commented the other day that
I have to suggest that what Washington is buried under right now, is probably beneficial to the nation as a whole, because it prevents any attempts to exert governmental power to spend our money on whatever they want. I suppose it’s a futile hope that the storm will continue until the next election. But at this point, I will take any victory I can.
Turns out, the storm happened on Reagan’s Birthday. Poetic, I think. Oh, and Happy Birthday, Gipper!
- THE ANSWER IS YES: Kos IS in fact an extremist. He’s certainly not mainstream.
- THE REASON THE COLTS LOST: Obama predicted their victory. The guy simply can’t get anything right.
- THE GREEN POLICE: Yes, I saw the ad. You didn’t? Here you go.
I think it prophetic.
Tags: addiction, anything, birthday, BitsBlog, crowd, DC SHUTDOWN, desperation, Don Imus, few words, genius, government jobs, hairball, hand, handwritten words, left, Michelle, moron, Nightly, nonsense, Obama, opponent, Palin, pattern, Ramble, Rasmussen, Read, Republicans, similarity, speech, sphere, state of the union, storm, talk, teleprompter, utterances, vamps, victory, Washington
The reprobate and former Marine, John Murtha, has assumed room temperature, Associated Press:
Murtha’s criticism of the Iraq war intensified in 2006, when he accused Marines of murdering Iraqi civilians “in cold blood” at Haditha, Iraq, after one Marine died and two were wounded by a roadside bomb.
Say hello to Senator Oldsmobile.
Tags: Associated, blood, bomb, cold blood, criticism, former marine, haditha, haditha iraq, Iraq, Iraq War, iraqi civilians, John Murtha, Marine, Marines, oldsmobile, Press, reprobate, roadside, roadside bomb, room, room temperature, Senator Oldsmobile, temperature, war
Hey Chuckles, how do you feel about sand bagging Norm Coleman now, from Ed Morrrissey, Hot Air
[David] Axelrod took the brunt of anger from the caucus, especially Al Franken, not exactly known for his sunny disposition. However, Franken was not alone in complaining about the lack of leadership from the White House
I Won’s Special Request, Fox News:
Obama Tells Dems: Turn off CNN, Turn off Fox
At today’s question and answer session between President Obama and his former Democratic colleagues in the Senate, members got a bit of unexpected TV-viewing advice from the Commander in Chief: stop watching politics on TV.
Perhaps he’d prefer they tune into WhiteHouse.gov?
The president’s advice came in answer to a question from Sen. Mike Bennet, D-CO, who is facing a difficult re-election fight back home and wanted to know what Democrats and Republicans can do “to fix this institution so that our democracy can actually withstand the test that we’re facing right now.”
Rahm Emanuel is right. Liberals are special. I wonder who the one does trust?
Public catching up to anthropogenic global warming fraud, Ed Morrissey, Hot Air:
Before the big climate-change scandals hit over the last three months, confidence in the dire warnings regarding anthropogenic global warming ran high in the UK. A new poll by the BBC shows a dramatic turn since November. The number of people who believe that the Earth is warming because of human activity has dropped 15 points — and now trails skepticism by a wide margin
Hang on we going to win this one.
President Two Face, from City Square:
AP admits Obama sounds contradictory
Remember when Pres. Obama was considered to be a brilliant and awe-inspiring speaker? That has changed: the Associated Press has discovered that Obama’s statements can be “contradictory”:
Hat tip: Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit.
Tags: "Global Warming", advice, Air, Al, Al Franken, anger, answer, answer session, axelrod, BBC, bennet, brunt, caucus, Chuckles, City Square, climate change, CNN, confidence, David, David Axelrod, democratic colleagues, democrats and republicans, disposition, Ed Morrissey, Ed Morrrissey, election fight, Emanuel, Fox, fox news, Franken, fraud, glenn reynolds, Hang, hat tip, Hey, Hot, Hot Air, House, instapundit, lack, leadership, new poll, norm coleman, Obama, poll, President Obama, public, question, rahm emanuel, sand, sand bagging, scandals, Sen. Mike Bennet, senate members, skepticism, special request, sunny disposition, three months, Turn, UK, Warming, White, White House, wide margin
“How’s that hopey-changey thing working out for ya?”
Sarah Palin, from David Weigel, Washington Independent.
Tags: David Weigel, Independent, Sarah Palin, Thing, Washington, ya
I have been saying for years now that if the terrorists ever wanted to shut down Washington DC, all they would have to do is make it snow. 2in. or so oughta do it. The people in and around Washington DC are incapable of dealing with what mother nature dishes out, or even identify it, if the environmental legislation Washington has been offering lately in the name of “protecting the environment ” is of any indication. And of course the way the place shuts down whenever nature kicks up her heels a bit as in this case.
There’s a history to this point of view, too. I remember being pulled over in DC some years ago during a snowstorm. There was about 2in of snow on the ground. The cop ,after looking briefly at my info, wanted to know if I understood the roads had all been closed. Actually, I didn’t know, and I asked innocently about why that was. He responded by pointing at the ground. “All the snow” he said, all serious -like. At which I broke out l;laughing. I simply couldn’t help myself.
He got a bit put out by that… and seeing this I shook my head and I told him, in a somewhat more soothing voice….”Look officer, no disrespect intended, but look closely at that driver’s license in your hand. The address on it is Rochester NY, which is east and slightly north of Buffalo, and on a latitude further north than a largish chunk of Canada. ”
Blizzard of 77 snow
Seeing I had his interest, I continued…” You may have heard of the blizzard of 77, where in the city of Buffalo started shipping its snow out of town by railroad cars. I”ve lived in that area all my life. I took my driver’s test on a day where there was a fresh half a foot of snow on the ground. I’ve driven under those conditions many many times. Snow and I have met. I know how to drive safely in it.” I smiled up at him. He handed me back my license and said, I thought rather meekly, “Have a nice day” , got in his car and drove off with the air of someone completely out of his element.
The most recent example of DC snow, comes in the form of what is being called the largest DC snowstorm since 1922. We have there a situation I can only chuckle at… this storm is better than 10 times what’s needed to shut down the federal government. To which I can only celebrate.
There’s another aspect, here. As it stands right now, there are some 200,000 people without power within the DC area . There are multiple roof collapses around the neighborhood, parts of Philadelphia are recording up to 30in. of snow. And, I wonder; will we have a long line of people complaining about the emergency response of the federal government in this crisis? How long until the Democrat Party Faithful start complaining the way the Denizens of NOLA did, about the federal government’s lack of response to Katrina? My guess is that if such complaints ever surface, you can bet your snowplow the mainstream media won’t report it.
Personally, I blame global warming. (Yeah, right) Should I point out that the people underneath all that snow are more than a little skeptical about the concept of global warming? it’s amazing, how 30in. of reality in your driveway trumps an equal amount of crap coming from politicians looking to ride “climate change” into even greater power for themselves.
All that said, I have to suggest that what Washington is buried under right now, is probably beneficial to the nation as a whole, because it prevents any attempts to exert governmental power to spend our money on whatever they want. I suppose it’s a futile hope that the storm will continue until the next election. But at this point, I will take any victory I can.
Tags: area, Bit, blizzard, blizzard of 77, briefly, Buffalo, Canada, Caption, chunk, city of buffalo, cop, Day, disrespect, driver, element, Environment, foot of snow, government, ground, indication, info, Katrina, latitude, legislation, license, Mother, mother nature dishes, name, nature, nice day, NOLA, oughta, Philadelphia, point, point of view, power, protecting the environment, railroad cars, response, Rochester, rochester ny, snow, snow on the ground, snowstorm, storm, terrorists, Warming, Washington, washington dc, way
Rush Limbaugh uses the term ‘retarded” a lot, video:
Hat tip video: Media Spatters.
Tim Shriver, Special Olympics, soils his nappies, from Ben Smith, Politico:
But the Special Olympics, which organized a delegation that ultimately accepted Emanuel’s apology and his pledge to stop using the word, is now asking Limbaugh to reconsider his language.
“I incredulously listened to the segment in your show in which you repeatedly and offensively used the term ‘retard; in reference to our meeting with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel,” Special Olympics chief Tim Shriver wrote in a letter to Limbaugh today, asking that he invite Special Olympics athlete Loretta Claiborne onto his show to explain the pain the word causes.
Allah Pundit, Hot Air, on Shriver:
He can’t accept apologies, but I guess he can demand them.
With no respect to Shriver, he doesn’t know what pain is. I am old enough to remember the old adage: “Sticks and stone may break my bone s, but words will never hurt me.”
The new adage may well be, “State Department SUV’s and stones may break my bones” from Tucker Carlson and Jon Ward, Daily Caller:
The State Department has refused to answer basic questions about an accident that took place in Washington on Wednesday night, in which a U.S. Diplomatic Security Service vehicle struck Daily Caller employee Sean Medlock as he was crossing the street.
An agent in the vehicle, Mike McGuinn, did not identify himself to Medlock at the scene, or apologize for running him down. Indeed, Washington, D.C., police drove to a local emergency room to serve Medlock with a jaywalking citation as he lay prostrate in a hospital bed, while a man who identified himself as “special agent” stood by watching and taking notes.
While the use of the word retarded may hurt the feelings of Shriver’s special group, Sean Medlock knows the real meaning of pain. Don’t compare hurt feelings to vehicular assault and broken knee caps.
As for the use of the term retarded, it is relatively recent euphemism. I recall interviewing at the Rochester ARC (Association of Retarded Citizens). It is pointless to ban euphemisms. As one euphemism is supersededThe the new euphemism starts generating hurt feelings. It is cycle that never stops.
As for the vehicular assault, hit and run on Medlcck, I urge Mrs. Clinton to get to the bottom of the scandal in her State Department. Did Mike McGuinn mistake Medlock for Monica Lewinsky?
Addendum: Addition thoughts and history from Paul Shlichta. American Thinker:
P.C.ers have a ludicrous talent for replacing a fair term with a worse one. Consider “handicapped,” a word once used for people with a deficiency in physical ability. It was a good word, honest and yet optimistic. As in its popular racetrack use, it implied that someone had a difficulty that others didn’t have, but that with courage and perseverance, he could overcome it and win. But P.C. decreed that it could cause discrimination (another useful word that was exiled to verbal Siberia) and demanded that it be replaced by “disabled” — a much more pejorative word that, as used in modern electronics, implies total incapacity. But then “disabled” was proscribed and replaced with “challenged,” a condescendingly hypocritical euphemism that has become the butt of countless jokes.
In the same Pecksniffian spirit, “retarded” — now called (I’m not making this up) “the r-word” — is has been declared offensive.
While you may never find the pot of gold you seek, those who seek to be offended always will be.
Addendum ][:(Eric)
First of all, I speak as the parent of two special needs kids.
Secondly, and that said, words mean things, as Limbaugh himself is so fond of pointing out. They also, I will add, have consequences. My instinct here is that what those who object to various words really have problems with, is their meaning, and, the consequences of that meaning.
The issue here, it seems to me, is people trying to escape the consequences of their situation by eliminating the words describing it. As David points out, this is nothing new. As he also correctly points out, these things are constantly changing.
Consider, as an example, the word “homeless”. In the past, we in the west would use such words as vagabond, tramp, vagrant, beggar, bum, derelict, mendicant or panhandler. Of course, the such words, and such descriptions, are no longer considered to be “politically correct”. We could even toss in Rush’s use of “Urban Outdoorsman”. in each case, such terms are considered a pejorative. At least, they are by those to whom they apply.
We are going to have to get used to the idea, I think, that there is no escaping the consequences of the situation by changing the words describing that situation.
I think we’re also going to have to get used to the idea that many people complaining about one label or another are probably seeking power, by means of what can only be described as ‘group politics’. That would be particularly true of leftist politicians, in my view. For example consider the leftist politicians around the aforementioned Rahm Emanuel,a nd their reaction to the homeless before, and then during the Clinton presidency… how we were told that homelessness was Americans number one issue during the campaign, and how that problem vanished into thin air even before some flunky’s knees ever warmed the carpet under the oval office desk. There was a Democrat in the White House so there could be no more homeless problem. Remember?
Now, the problem here is a bit more complex, given you simply cannot make a problem like mental retardation disappear. Nor apparently can you make professional offense takers disappear, either, particularly when you make your bread and butter by means of group poli8tics and pandering to the subscribers of same.
The very reason Rahm Emanuel was chosen for his current role was his suppose it ability to make deals, and play to all sides, particularly in Congress. I think we can safely assume that that ability is either totally gone or so totally crippled is to be laughable, given the state of things in the Congress these days. Indeed, some Democrats are already willing to sacrifice Rahm Emanuel as a scapegoat for the failures of the Obama administration. What this ignores, of course, is that the problem isn’t one person, but the ideas that arrive that one person. Ideas, obviously, the far left is not willing to give up, as yet. I wonder if they will ever be so smart.
Given his comments, so too does Rahm Emanuel. Think on this… Rahm Emanuel comparing Democrats to “retards” and then apologizing to the “retards”. Seems to me, there’s something poetic about that.
Rahm Emanuel being hoisted on his own political petard, for starters. He has lived and will die on the basis of group politics. I think the only question left open at this point is how badly that will damage the Obama administration, going forward. One cannot help but think that eventually the word “Democrat” will become a pejorative. Given the approval ratings of the Democrats in Congress and the one in the White House currently, I’d say that situation is already well underway, due in no small part to people like Rahm Emanuel.
Tags: adage, addendum, agent, allah pundit, apology, assault, basic questions, Ben Smith, bone, Caller, chief of staff, Chief of Staff Rahm, citation, D.C., Daily, David, delegation, department, diplomatic security service, Don, Emanuel, emergency room, Eric, euphemism, Hat, hat tip, House, Jon Ward, knee caps, language, letter, Limbaugh, loretta claiborne, lot, mcguinn, meeting, Mike McGuinn, Monica Lewinsky, Mrs. Clinton, nappies, old adage, Olympics, olympics athlete, P.C, pain, Paul Shlichta, pledge, Politico, rahm emanuel, reference, Rush, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Medlock, segment, show, Siberia, situation, special group, special olympics, State, State Department, sticks and stone, term, tim shriver, Today, Tucker Carlson, U.S. Diplomatic, Urban Outdoorsman, use, using the word, vehicle, vehicular, vehicular assault, video, video media, Washington, wednesday night, White, white house chief of staff, word
Chuckles the sock puppet, William A Jacobson, Legal Insurrection:
Barack Obama held a question-and-answer meeting with Democratic Senators yesterday to field questions about where the administration is heading on various initiatives.
[...]
The entire event was scripted, with the Senators keeping away from the health care bill during the televised session. Instead, Senators held back on questions about that most pressing issue until the cameras were turned off, Obama had departed, and the doors were closed:
Chuckles, b/k/a New York senior Senator Charles Schumer is afraid to ask the President a real question. Call that what you will, it not representation.
The Obama Touch, from Don Surber, via Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit:
If you want a prism into why Democrats are struggling so much right now, this may sum it up: only 11% of voters across the country say that their economic situation has improved over the last year compared to 42% who think it has become worse. 47% say it’s about the same as it was.
The Obama Tongue, video:
The lad has a flair more consistency.
Drunk Congressmen in peril, Steven Peoples, Providence Journal:
PROVIDENCE — John Loughlin is not named in the poll, but he may have fared far better than the elected officials who were.
Nearly 6 in 10 registered voters in the First Congressional District would consider another candidate or vote to replace Loughlin’s opponent, U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, according to a WPRI-TV, Channel 12 survey released Thursday night.
Out.
Tags: administration, Barack, Barack Obama, bill, cameras, care, channel 12, charles schumer, Chuckles, Congressional District, democratic senators, Democrats, Don Surber, doors, economic situation, event, field questions, first congressional district, Gateway, health, health care bill, hoft, initiatives, insurrection, issue, jacobson, Jim Hoft, John Loughlin, Legal, meeting, new york, Obama, Patrick J. Kennedy, President, prism, Providence, providence journal, puppet, question, question and answer, registered voters, representation, senator charles schumer, session, sock puppet, Steven Peoples, Touch, tv channel, U.S., William A Jacobson, wpri tv, yesterday
For liberals, the observation that “the peasants are revolting” is a pun. For conservatives, it is cause for uncharacteristic optimism.
Charles Krauthammer; Washington Post.
Tags: Charles Krauthammer, charles krauthammer washington post, conservatives, liberals, observation, optimism, peasants, Post, pun, Washington, washington post
As this is wriiten, I’m on my way back to Casa de Bit. Let’s just say the situation up north didn’t work to our mutual satisfaction.
I may or may not blog much today, since I was up all night last night…. again. Nightly Ramble will resume Monday though I’ve no idea for how long.
Tags: Bit, blog, Casa, idea, Monday, mutual satisfaction, night, Nightly, Ramble, satisfaction, situation, Today, way, wriiten
President Obama has a huge problem: jobs. As in, lack of them. As in, not creating any. He promised them on the campaign trail, and he promised them as part of the $1.2 trillion stimulus package he signed a year ago.
After one year in office, with a huge majority in Congress, he has accomplished remarkably little, which is a relief to a Conservative. He has spent an inordinate amout of time, resources and energy wrangling over socialized medicine and cap and trade, and the unemployment remains stubbornly high.
Tomorrow, employment data will be released for January. Weekly initial jobless claims for unemployment insurance has been running about 470,000, and this week the number hit 480,000. The employment sector will not grow until initial jobless claims fall below 400,000. We’re still a long way off.
There are two factors in play. The President has been jawboning big business for the last three years, while on the campaign trail and since his inauguration. Business will not hire workers without some stable signs of an increase in aggregate demand, and as long as this administration sends a daily message as being opposed to big business, and banks in particular, stability cannot happen. Businesses will hire when owners and managers are convinced that there will be stable demand for their products and services. Right now, there is no stability, and no assurance from Washington that stability is part of their economic program.
So, here we are, stuck in a economic vacuum. The Obama team continues down a course of job losses (even though they’re convinced they’re right), and no concrete plans to move the nation forward toward economic prosperity. It would almost be comical if the consequences weren’t so severe. But then again, the November elections are coming fast. And the current economic malaise bodes very well for Conservatives.
Tags: aggregate demand, amout, banks, business, Campaign, campaign trail, concrete, Congress, consequences, Conservative, conservatives, demand, economic malaise, economic program, economic prosperity, employment, employment data, employment sector, inauguration, initial jobless claims, job losses, lack, majority, Obama, office, package, part, President Obama, problem, relief, stability, stimulus, stimulus package, time, time resources, trail, trillion, unemployment, unemployment insurance, vacuum, Washington, year
Until Fearless Leader resumes his Nightly Ramble, settle for a late supper.
Is Chuckles vulnerable:
Can we start treating Chuckie Schumer (D-NY) as vulnerable NOW?
(H/T: Instapundit) He’s dropped another four points in two weeks. 51% in mid-January; 47% now. That’s the lowest it’s been since 2001.
Admittedly, he’s currently up more or less two-to-one against a hypothetical Kudlow candidacy. Currently. As I noted last week, Schumer wasn’t exactly challenged in his last election, and his current relationship with Wall Street threatens to clash badly with the President’s unfolding plan to demonize that institution. How well his supposed invulnerability will hold up under a real political assault has yet to be seen. Aggressive, ambitious New York Republicans, please note…
Hat tip: Moe Lane.
Question of the Day:
Question: Has the White House really been transformed into a cult of personality shrine to “The One”?
Hat tip: Hillbuzz.
Counting down Keith, Los Angeles Times:
[Keith] Olbermann’s showboat is sinking. Listing in you-know-which direction.
It’s as if he thinks talking LOUDER will keep his low cell battery from dying.
Hat tip: Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit.
“This President Is A Real Slow Learner”, video:
Hat tip: Nice Deb.
What is wrong with Obamacare, Milton Friedman:
[W]hy we would assume that political self-interest is somehow more noble than economic self-interest.
Hat tip and transscription, Selwyn Duke, American Thinker.
Video:
Rich Lowry, Real Clear Politics:
What happens when the irresistible force of the Democratic urge to tax runs up against the immovable object of Democratic loyalty to the labor unions?
Another ugly deal in a health-care bill that already was a grotesquerie of pay offs to favored politicians and interests. The levy in question is a 40 percent excise tax on high-end employer-provided insurance plans that – typically – has been sold as a tax on “the rich.” It’s called the “Cadillac tax,” a name redolent of corporate executives cackling in their Escalades over their cushy benefits.
That’s all.
Tags: Aggressive, american thinker, assault, candidacy, cell battery, chuckie, Chuckles, cult of personality, D-NY, deb, demonize, election, escalad, excise tax, Fearless, fearless leader, four points, glenn reynolds, Hat, hat tip, health care bill, immovable object, instapundit, institution, invulnerability, irresistible force, January, Keith, Keith Olbermann, Kudlow, labor unions, last election, leader, los angeles times, mid, Milton Friedman, Moe Lane, new york, Nice, Nightly, NY, plan, political assault, President, President Is, question, question of the day, Ramble, Real, real clear politics, relationship, Republicans, Rich Lowry, schumer, self-interest, selwyn duke, showboat, supper, tax, tip, video, Wall Street, wasn, week, White House
Democrats are in the midst of the painful realization: Mr. Obama’s words cannot save them from the power of bad ideas.
Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal.
Tags: cannot, Democrats, Journal, Karl Rove, midst, Mr. Obama, Obama, painful realization, power, realization, Wall Street, wall street journal
