Moving already?

Yep. Here's the new url:

http://theblogprof.blogspot.com/

Since I go by the handle "theblogprof," I decided to move this blog over to a url that accurately reflects that handle. So please change your bookmarks if you're following along.

Thanks!

-Chris

WSJ: Beam me up, Scottie! This stimulus sucks!

The Wall Street Journal is on the warpath today against the non-stimulus stimulus bill. The article lists a litany of spending that appear to have absolutely nothing to do with stimulating economic activity. Scratch that. It's not that it doesn't 'appear to,' it's that it simply does not. In any case, read the whole thing, but here's the wrap up of that article that should make the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up:

The larger fiscal issue here is whether this spending bonanza will become part of the annual "budget baseline" that Congress uses as the new floor when calculating how much to increase spending the following year, and into the future. Democrats insist that it will not. But it's hard -- no, impossible -- to believe that Congress will cut spending next year on any of these programs from their new, higher levels. The likelihood is that this allegedly emergency spending will become a permanent addition to federal outlays -- increasing pressure for tax increases in the bargain. Any Blue Dog Democrat who votes for this ought to turn in his "deficit hawk" credentials.

This is supposed to be a new era of bipartisanship, but this bill was written based on the wish list of every living -- or dead -- Democratic interest group. As Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it, "We won the election. We wrote the bill." So they did. Republicans should let them take all of the credit.

Yikes!

MEA to MI: save money by making pension problem worse!

From the pages of the freep this morning, there was this: Michigan Education Association has plan: Get teachers to retire. Sounded good until you read the subline: "Better pensions for 9,000 sought." Better pensions, I thought (eyebrow raised). For 9,000 employees? From the article:

The plan, to be announced today by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, would save schools statewide nearly $411 million next year and $1.7 billion over 10 years, according to the Michigan Education Association.

But how will the this affect the pension fund for public employees? How much of an increase would it take to entice 9,000 teachers to take the bump?

The proposed change would increase monthly benefits by about a third, according to the MEA. The average monthly increase would be about $500.

$500 per month for 9,000 retirees = $4.5million per month. For a LONG time. 30 years of teaching when one starts at say 24 years of age would make many of these retirees only 54 years old (some even younger). There will be plenty of years left for these former teachers to collect these pensions. And herein lies the problem. What is the state of the pension fund right now? You can get that info from the Michigan Department of Management and Budget Office of Retirement Services blah, blah, blah. Just hit the link here. You can get financial data each fiscal year beginning in 1997. In any case, I hit the link for 2008 and started sifting through (just search for "liability" or "unfunded" and you'll find what you need quickly). On page 46 of that document, here's what you get: Note the number I circled. $24,957. Unfunded. Doesn't sound bad until you realize that all the numbers on this page are in MILLIONS! So $24,957 Million = $25 BILLION! (With a really big, capital "B") The pension fund in currently $25 billion dollars in the hole! So I guess in the MEA's worldview, the numbers they're talking about will 'only' add about $54million per year to a $25billion dollar hole. No problem!

Since Michigan's fiscal year doesn't end until June 31, the above numbers were released before the housing meltdown (I have my own take on that here). So we really won't know for a while, but I will guess that $25Billion will go over $30Billion or more this summer, a combination of pension fund losses in the market, and underfunding the fund in the first place. In addition, I would just note the yearly unfunded liability since 1997. It got really bad once Granholm-Cherry got into office. Sure you can blame the state economy, but that is totally the resposibility of the administration. After all, we've been in a one-state recession for 6 years now. The debt will continue every year for the foreseeable future. No end in sight. Just a monster tsunami developing off our fiscal coast (speaking of - pensiontsunami is a website you all might want to bookmark). A time of reckoning will come.

So back to MEA's proposal. It's basically a credit card solution. Use the plastic now. Pay for it for years to come. I don't believe that this will do anything good for Michigan's future, short or long-term. Even in the short term, the money saved now in paying younger versus older teachers will be outweighed by making the debt avalanche bigger, thus making it a more difficult problem in the future. I give this proposal a thumbs down.

MEA getting 'exposure' it doesn't want

This from OutsideLansing (HT:rightmichigan): Kyle Olson Lays Siege to MEA - FOIA'd E-mail RELEASED from Wayne-Westland. Excerpts:

...But Kyle Olson, the nefarious (in the eyes of the MEA) now-two-man gang (he appears to have hired former Muskegon Chronicle writer Steve Gunn as a communications guy) known as the Education Action Group, writes this op-ed (School Boards Under Siege by MEA inspired recall elections) in the Lansing St. Journal yesterday taking note.

Unfortunately, the Michigan Education Association doesn't want you to see it that way. The union wants Michigan voters to cooperate with its plan to recall board members who threaten its greedy financial goals.

The MEA's recall strategy has already plagued the Harrison, St. Clair Shores Lakeview, Reed City, Gladstone, Southfield, Wayne-Westland, Garden City and Redford Union districts, to name a few. And if other school boards dare question the union's financial goals, they could be targeted, too.

What crimes have the targeted board members committed?

They considered saving precious dollars by cutting ties with MESSA, the expensive health insurance carrier owned and operated by the MEA; or by privatizing support services like transportation, custodial work or food preparation.

In the St. Clair Shores Lakeview district, for instance, the board dumped MESSA and replaced it with comparable insurance coverage, saving about $500,000 per year. The MEA responded with a recall attempt against four board members, which, fortunately, failed at the polls.

And Olson goes a step further. Just yesterday afternoon on a separate matter, he released e-mails obtained through FOIA from the Wayne-Westland district both proving both the recall connection in that district and a number of other interesting goodies. See here, at MEAExposed.com. There's a bunch of stuff in there - more than just a story about MESSA or MEA recalls. It's part of a Rosetta stone as to how special interests work.

MEAExposed.com has some pretty embarrassing stuff on the MEA. I would say "Ouch!" except that the MSM will likely never report any of this information. Too bad for Michigan school districts.

Democrats Launch Petition Against Rush Limbaugh

That's not a joke. It's really happening. (it's happened before, so looks like the dems are content to repeat history)

(CNSNews.com) – The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched an online petition for readers to express their outrage at conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for saying last week that he wanted President Barack Obama to fail.

Here's the ENTIRE interview with Rush:

Now can you say that Rush wants Obama to fail?

This from the Detroit Free Press yesterday: Limbaugh fails his country. An absolute hack job of an article. The only snippet of Rush's interview in Leonard Pitts's article is "I hope he fails." Nice job Pitts! What ever happened to journalists reporting the news? Journalistic integrity? Does. Not. Exist. Especially at the "Free" Press.

Did this happen ALREADY????

Moscow Rolls Obama, Euro Missile Defense Apparently Shelved. Remember Biden's forecast? See here:

From the article: "While the headlines all blare "Russia suspends missile plans in Kaliningrad," the real news is "Why?" " Read the whole post for a chronological list of events. If true, then this is very bad. (HT:CG)

James Hansen REBUKED BY BOSS!

James Hansen’s Former NASA Supervisor Declares Himself a Skeptic - Says Hansen ‘Embarrassed NASA’, ‘Was Never Muzzled’, & Models ‘Useless’. Well this ought to put a few things to rest, no? Well, actually - no. no it won't. Don't expect this to get any play across the MSM. James Hansen will still be hailed a 'leading scientist' and Al Gore will still be... well - Al Gore. In any case, the article here exposes some extraordinary facts. Here are some excerpts:

For those just joining the climate discussion, Dr. James Hansen is the chief climate scientist at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and is the man who originally raised the alarm on global warming in 1988 in an appearance before congress. He is also the keeper of the most often cited climate data.

NASA warming scientist James Hansen, ... is being publicly rebuked by his former supervisor at NASA.

“Hansen was never muzzled even though he violated NASA’s official agency position on climate forecasting (i.e., we did not know enough to forecast climate change or mankind’s effect on it). Hansen thus embarrassed NASA by coming out with his claims of global warming in 1988 in his testimony before Congress,” Theon wrote.

Then the final paragraph wraps up some of the anti-anthropogenic global warming evidence that I have touched on in this blog:

On a range of issues, 2008 proved to be challenging for the promoters of man-made climate fears. Promoters of anthropogenic warming fears endured the following: Global temperatures failing to warm; Peer-reviewed studies predicting a continued lack of warming; a failed attempt to revive the discredited “Hockey Stick“; inconvenient developments and studies regarding rising CO2; the Spotless Sun; Clouds; Antarctica; the Arctic; Greenland’s ice; Mount Kilimanjaro; Global sea ice; Causes of Hurricanes; Extreme Storms; Extinctions; Floods; Droughts; Ocean Acidification; Polar Bears; Extreme weather deaths; Frogs; lack of atmospheric dust; Malaria; the failure of oceans to warm and rise as predicted.

The article is a great read, with lots of links and in-depth information. So go ahead and read the whole thing! (HT:CG)

Nail. Coffin.

Catholic shame

A good post on RedState titled Are You Happy Now? Just a few excerpts:

The relationship of the Catholic Church with conservatives and the Republican party is a very conflicted one. The institutional Church is probably second only to academia in glomming onto every new bit of left wing lunacy that comes bouncing down the pike. The Church has, however, as a whole been stalwart on life and family issues. Unfortunately, the opposition to abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, and gay marriage, indeed one could say based on these issues the defense of Western Civilization, places them at loggerheads with their emotional allies: liberal democrats.

In the 2004 election the Heirarchy was taken aback by demands of conservative Catholics and conservative non-Catholics alike that they adhere to their own rules in regards to support for abortion...

Having been burned in 2004, they became too cute by half. In 2007 a pamphlet was issued called Faithful Citizenship. In this document or bishops managed to make voting for any candidate acceptable while appearing to condemn abortion across the board:

34. Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter’s intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate’s opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity.

35. There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons.Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil.

Essentially, this construction allows you to take any social ill and elevate it above abortion. (emphasis mine)

I never understood the squeemishness of the Catholic heirarchy. Being raised in a Catholic household myself, it was apparent to me pretty early on thta many traditions of the Catholic Church no longer follow anything that the Bible had prescribed. The Church had gone rogue. Happened a few hundred years after JC, then got really bad in the middle ages. They now have no moral authority over anything. Evolution? They bought it. Global warming? Bought that too. Just no bearings whatsover anymore. That being said, they have a few things correct to this day. The trinitarian nature of God. The evil of abortion. But yet, they waiver, and allow for the voting for pro-abort politicians based on other social issues. What exactly could possibly be more grave than killing babies?

In essence, by watering down their standars and not drawing a line in the sand on this one issue, they have allowed politicians to be elected that would like nothing more than to foist FOCA on the 50 states, and have thus become complicit in what is coming down the pike. There is simply no excuse for this. In any case, the article then concludes, similar to my thoughts on the subject:

In a quest to be invited to the right parties and seen with the right people our own bishops stand condemned of being complicit in the abortion of about one million children each year by continuing to allow pro-abort Catholic politicians to receive the Eucharist and by failing to teach the simple truth from the pulpit: that besides the horror of infanticide and euthanasia all other issues pale by comparison.

Biden apologizes to Roberts

Via MSNBC (HT:HA):

Sources familiar with the conversation say Vice President Joe Biden telephoned Chief Justice John Roberts last week to apologize for a remark he made about the chief's memory.

"My memory is not as good as Chief Justice Roberts's," Biden said last Wednesday, as he prepared to administer the oath of office to new senior White House staffers. The remark did not appear to go over well with President Obama, who did not smile, though some in the room laughed. Biden's remark came the day after the infamous flub that occurred as Roberts led Obama through the oath of office.

Here's the original video of the offhanded remark by Biden:

I'd say we should expect more of this from Biden. MUCH, MUCH more. Then again, Obama did NOT look happy, did he now? Maybe he told Joe to keep the trap shut?

The Pelosi-Reid-Obama Debt Plan

as Heritage put it. Anyway, here's this: [BREAKING] Boehner to House GOP: Vote against the stimulus. (HT:RS) Politico reports:

President Barack Obama is coming to the Capitol this afternoon to curry favor
with congressional Republicans. But it appears GOP leaders have already made up
their minds to oppose his $825 billion stimulus plan.

Finally some sanity on the Hill? I'm not holding my breath just yet.

Calling evil good, and good evil

This last week marked some ominous events in our nation. January 22 marked the 36th anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision by the Supreme Court, an act of judicial fiat that foisted upon us murder on demand of any or all of our unborn children, surely the most vulnerable and innocent of us all. Obama released a press release that, in part, read:

"On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose."

Never mind that government already intrudes in family matters, forcing most parents to send their children to public indoctrinations centers (a.k.a. public schools), not of the choosing of the parents, that ultimately miserably fail at their supposed basic function (education). Also, try spanking your child these days and see how fast CPS comes to your door. So much for that non-interference platitude.

Then, the very next day, The One signed an executive order forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions overseas. This at a time when our nation is flat broke. Maybe he should watch this short video I posted the other day:

LaShawn Barber had an excellent op-ed on the RvW anniversary that she originally wrote in 2003. It has the basic theme that I want to touch on today:

Last October, the Metropolitan Washington region was paralyzed with fear, wondering when and where a cold-blooded killer would strike next. Mobilized into action, law enforcement agencies on the federal, state and local levels were on the case of the “D.C. sniper” 24-7. With a mass murderer on the loose, the media covered the story round-the-clock. Righteous indignation pumped through the veins of red-blooded Americans. When the murderous pair was caught, the whole country was relieved.

Yet, when it comes to the slaughter of unborn children, the nation tarries. Thirteen people were killed in the sniper attacks; 43 million people–over a million a year–have been killed since Roe v. Wade. On March 13, 2003, a Republican Senate spoke loudly and clearly against the slaughter by voting to ban partial birth abortion 64-33.

The bill prohibits doctors from committing an “overt act” designed to kill a partially delivered fetus. The bill legally defines a partial birth abortion as any abortion in which a baby is delivered “past the naval…outside the mother’s womb” before being killed. The Senate-passed version of the bill is on its way to the House of Representatives, where it will likely pass. As expected, House Democrats (like the Congressional Black Caucus), protectors of criminals, perverts, animals, trees and rocks, will fight with their very lives against the ban on infanticide. Liberal lunacy notwithstanding, the bill will be signed into law by President Bush.

Meanwhile, day after day, babies in the womb are cut to pieces, torn apart and chemically poisoned to death all for sacred “choice.” Here’s how a group calling itself the Childbirth by Choice Trust describes abortion to teenagers: “To remove the contents of her uterus, the doctor gradually opens the cervix and inserts a small tube. This tube is attached to a machine which gently suctions the inside of the uterus. The doctor then carefully checks the uterus with an instrument, to be sure no tissue (read: human being) remains. The entire procedure takes about 10 minutes.” No sweat.

Partial birth abortions, unlike the inconvenient “gob of tissue” scraped from the womb in early abortions, are gruesome. To avoid being charged under state murder statutes, the abortion “doctors” pull the baby only halfway out of the womb. In Josef Mengele-like fashion, the abortionist jams the tip of surgical scissors into the base of the baby’s skull, suctioning out its brain through a catheter.

Despite such an appalling scene, infanticide supporter Senator Barbara Boxer said that partial birth abortion is a “political” term, not a “medical” one. According to Boxer, the term is “made up” and “very emotional,” implying that supporters of the ban to stop this carnage actually want to evoke sympathy for babies murdered in the womb. Right-wing nuts!

A society that tolerates child killing is a society doomed for judgment. God warned ancient Israel to refrain from worshipping the Ammonite false deity, Molech. First-born children were “passed through the fire” and burned to death as a sacrifice to Molech under the illusion they’d be given prosperity.

Israel disobeyed God’s laws, resulting in generations of moral decline and severe wrath: Famine, plague, cannibalism, invasion and domination by surrounding pagan nations, captivity into slavery, persecution and death.

Molech must be mighty pleased with America. Millions of children are sacrificed every year for similar motives. Approximately 93 percent of all induced abortions are done for elective, non-medical reasons (read: convenience). Although abortion proponents claim the procedure is rare, it’s not rare enough. Partial birth abortions have more than tripled in the past four years to about 2,200 annually.

The U.S. has been facing its own moral decline for some time, but it has yet to suffer the fate of ancient Israel. While abortion proponents continue to euphemistically refer to infanticide as “intrauterine cranial decompression” or “intact dilation and evacuation,” God has promised that the slaying of the innocent will not go unpunished. He says in Jeremiah 19: “Because they have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods…and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent…I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will give over their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. I will also make this city a desolation.”

In the aftermath of September 11, it became chic even for liberals to haughtily exclaim, “God bless America!” Perhaps the more appropriate petition would be: God have mercy on America.

With all of these things happening this last week, I looked at the big picture. Specifically, what liberals think about all the issues surrounding our culture. Abortion of the innocent? Good! Capital punishment for the guilty? Evil! Forcing kids into failing government-run schools? Good! Vouchers that let parents choose private Christian schools? Evil! Judging people by there skin color (aka - affirmative action)? Good! Judging people only by the content of their character? Evil! I could go on and on with this list. The gay agenda, the elimination of personal responsibility, putting as many people as possible under the thumb of big government, etc., ad infinitum. What the U.S. stands for has been turned on its head, and what used to evil is now considered good, and visa versa. At least in liberal la-la land, which is being increasingly imposed on us through many channels, most prominently these days by judicial activism.

This aspect of moder liberalism brings Isiah 5:20 to mind (NIV version):

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter

Now darkness can never win against the light. The only way to impose darkness is to cover up the light. To keep it hidden. It is no coincidence that Christianity is under unprecedented attack at the same time as these evil policies are being imposed on us all. WE THE PEOPLE appear to have less and less say as time goes on, as we are increasingly coming under the tyranny of the black robe.

As a final note, I was thinking of the "good is evil, evil is good" inversion the other day. i have heard it before. It took me a while sifting through my memory banks to find exactly where it was. Here is where I heard it before:

MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell a shill for Obama

No! You don't say. Well, then again, see the video:

Is she really playing "devil's advocate" as she claims, or rather "Obama's advocate?" (HT:RS)

The best headline I've seen today:

GORE HEARING ON WARMING MAY BE PUT ON ICE (headline on drudge)

Al Gore is scheduled before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday morning to once again testify on the 'urgent need' to combat global warming. But Mother Nature seems ready to freeze the proceedings.

A 'Winter Storm Watch' has been posted for the nation's capitol and there is a potential for significant snow... sleet... or ice accumulations. "I can't imagine the Democrats would want to showcase Mr. Gore and his new findings on global warming as a winter storm rages outside," a Republican lawmaker emailed the DRUDGE REPORT. "And if the ice really piles up, it will not be safe to travel."

A spokesman for Sen. John Kerry, who chairs the committee, was not immediately available to comment on contingency plans. Global warming advocates have suggested this year's wild winter spells are proof of climate change.

Couldn't have happened to a better con artist! Unfortunately, this article indicates that the hearing will still happen, just later. Maybe they can wait until the hottest summer day? This is simply ridiculousness of the highest order.

On a related note, I would point out that the 'advocates' (whoever they are): "..have suggested this year's wild winter spells are proof of climate change." Note the climate change, versus global warming (hasn't the climate ALWAYS changed?). The changing of the narrative maybe? Wasn't it not long ago that the AP said that the cooling trend is proof of global warming? Why yes. Yes they did! From that article:

Ironically, 2008 is on pace to be a slightly cooler year in a steadily rising temperature trend line. Experts say it's thanks to a La Nina weather variation. While skeptics are already using it as evidence of some kind of cooling trend, it actually illustrates how fast the world is warming.

Need I say more?

Stimulus Nazi: I didn't REALLY mean NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!

I wrote about the idiotic comments that Obama economic advisor Robert Reich made in stating that white males should be excluded from stimulus money (see my posts here and here). HotAit has more on the story:

Barack Obama’s economic advisor tried to rebut criticisms made over Robert Reich’s remarks almost three weeks ago to Congress over how to structure the stimulus package, but in fact rebuts nothing and defends none of his remarks. Reich accuses Michelle, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh of taking his remarks out of context, but fails entirely to provide context — and can only lamely link to Media Matters to rescue him...

We have two problems here. First, Reich did indeed talk about excluding white males from access by advising Congress to create “criteria” for their exclusion in favor of … well, everyone else. It’s rather absurd to argue otherwise, when Reich explicitly called for action to limit their access to these jobs. Reich takes the rather cowardly way out by not explaining the meaning of his televised remarks to Congress, instead airily referring to “context” when Reich has made clear that he wants government to treat infrastructure spending as a welfare program rather than a construction project. In fact, Reich was the one who specified “white male construction workers” as one group to avoid hiring. What is that, if not
exclusion?

The second problem is the actual advice to treat the stimulus as a welfare program. When we build bridges and roads, we need to ensure that we do work of the highest quality. Many of the jobs created in these areas won’t have skill requirements, but many of them will — and we should hire the best people available to ensure the highest quality work. When we travel over these bridges and roads, we want to assume they’re safe and well built. If one of them collapses from substandard work, the families of the dead won’t be comforted to know that politically correct hiring prevailed over skill and experience.

We’re supposed to be working towards a color-blind society. People like Reich are an anchor on progress, dead weight that should be discarded, especially now.

Major OUCH!

Update: Coach fired for un-apologizing after 100-0 win

An update on a story I blogged about a few days ago. HotAir comments on the non-apology apology:

Would Jesus be chucking threes in the fourth quarter up 85 points? The coach asks himself and answers … yes:

The Apology. In response to the statement posted on The Covenant School Website, I respectfully disagree with the apology, especially the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel “embarrassed” or “ashamed”. We played the game as it was meant to be played and would not intentionally run up the score on any opponent. Although a wide-margin victory is never evidence of compassion, my girls played with honor and integrity and showed respect to Dallas Academy. We honor God, ourselves, and our families when we step on the court to compete. I do no wish to forfeit the game. What kind of example does it set for our children? Do we really want to punish Covenant School girls? Does forfeiting really help Dallas Academy girls? We experienced a blowout almost 4 years ago and it was painful, but it made us who we are today. I believe in the lessons that sports teach us. Competition builds character, and teaches us to value selflessness, hard work, and perseverance. As a coach, I have instilled in my girls these values. So if I lose my job over these statements, I will walk away with my integrity.

His girls played with “honor” by straining to hit 100 points against a team that was outmatched from the opening tip? Winning 60-2 would have also “built character,” champ.

Ouch! Note to coaches: if you happen to be up on anyone 59-0 at halftime, be a sport and foul the other team often, letting them have at least a few points. On offense, practice your passing and let the shot clock expire every time. THAT would have shown a humble attitude. Had that happened, no one would have ever heard of this team or this story, and coach would have kept his job.

Scientists: OBESITY BUG YOU CAN CATCH!!!

A somewhat interesting headline I saw today. From the article:

"OBESITY can be “caught” as easily as a common cold from other people’s coughs, sneezes and dirty hands, scientists will claim today. Researchers believe that an airborne “adenovirus” germ could be causing the fat plague that is blighting Britain and other countries..."

“...When it goes to fat tissue it replicates, making more copies of itself and in the process increases the number of new fat cells, which may explain why people get fat when they are infected with this virus.” (HT:drudge)

Here's my question: would the fat cells multiply in the absence of extra calories? It's the calorie overage that would still fill these fat cells with triglycerides. No overage, no filling, the end result being extra small, flat fat cells. Thus, the root cause is still not the virus, but rather the consumption of too many calories. The virus, in essence, cannot break the conservation of energy principle. That's not environmental, that's personal!

When fat cells fill up all their stores with triglycerides from bad diets (bad meaning too many calories for what you need), they tend to split anyway because you are essentially maxing out their storage capacity. Once new fat cells are made, they are permanent, but that's no excuse to fill them up. You see, 'deflated' fat can hardly be seen (they're tiny!). For example, see any before/after pictures of bodybuilders or figure/fitness competitors. Here is an example (transformation of the week on bodybuilding.com) I pulled off of the web:

In the before picture, she was fat (275 lbs). In the after picture, she is very lean (147 lbs) with hardly any visible fat under the skin (women keep more fat then men as they need more 'essential' fat for reproductive purposes). The difference in the number of fat cells before and after? ZERO! The cells are just 'flat;' i.e. - not filled with triglycerides. Best way to do that - reduce the number of calories you eat and/or increase energy expenditure!

Thus, take a dose of suck-up pills and get off your duff! (and can we please stop treating this as a 'virus' already while pounding down whoppers and fries?)

More on Obama's attack on Rush

This from HotAir: Obama’s Folly. An excerpt:

George Bush never attacked Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, or other voices of the rabid Left by name. If he ever went on the attack against the left-wing media, he kept the attack general and broad, rather than specific. Bush may not have been the most media-savvy of our modern presidents — in fact, he may have been the worst at it since Nixon — but he knew enough about his office to understand that part of its strength would keep him somewhat above the partisan-pundit fray. Obama hasn’t figured that much out yet.

Ouch!

Ignoring life

(via powerline): Nothing to see here.

My conservative cousin filed this report on the massive right-to-life demonstration in Washington DC that portions of the MSM, including the New York Times, managed to miss.

On Thursday, I went to visit [my sister] at her new house in West Virginia. I changed trains in DC and had about 1/1/2 hours to kill. I walked outside Union Station and found myself in the middle of a massive right-to-life demonstration. The area around the Capitol was jammed with about a half million people. I saw crowds of Catholic clergy and lay people. But, not a TV camera or journalist with a notepad in sight.

I called [my wife] and told her to look in Friday's New York Times and bet her there would be no mention of this event. Sure enough the Times didn't consider this worthy of any coverage whatsoever. (Like your spouse my wife insists on buying the local liberal paper force of habit, she says.) Compare this with the coverage afforded when a comparable number of people descended on Washington to hear Louis Farrakhan's message of hate. Oh well, I was glad to see that none of these demonstrators were buying any of the Obama souvenirs hawked at many of the stands inside the station.

Stimulating ACORN

Yeah - THAT ACORN. Are Congressional Democrats really going to borrow money from our children and grandchildren to give handouts to ACORN in the name of economic “stimulus?” Apparently, yes. yes they are! (HT:CG)

Black Pastor Warns Obama about Abortion

At March, Black Pastor Warns Obama not to Preside over “Genocide” of American Blacks.

The most striking portion of Robinson’s speech came as he begged Obama not to preside over the genocide of African Americans. “We need change Mr. President because every day about 4000 babies die by abortion. Every day Mr. President, people with your ethnic background any my ethnic background die in astounding numbers. Abortion is the number one killer of African Americans in this country.”

“We make up about 12% of the population and about 34% of all abortions are black babies. In the last 36 years over 17 million African American babies have died by abortion alone. We need to change this picture. We need to stop this slaughter of the innocent preborn.

“Please Mr. President, be that agent of change that can commute the sentence of over 1400 African American children and over 3000 children from other ethnic groups sentenced to die every day in this country by abortion.”

“We need change and we need it now.”

Good speech meets deaf ears. The numbers are true. In addition, the arguments for abortion were the same exact arguments used against black slaves. They're not *really* people. not like US. Etc... (HT:CG)

Pelosi: BIRTH CONTROL WILL HELP ECONOMY!!!

this from the dimmest bulb in the U.S. House. Story headlines on Drudge.

Pelosi, the mother of 5 children and 6 grandchildren, who once said, "Nothing in my life will ever, ever compare to being a mom," seemed to imply babies are somehow a burden on the treasury. (emphasis mine)

I simply have nothing to add. Good grief! Hope and change!!!

Meanwhile, In Japan: Go home and get you schwervon! More babies please!

Big Government Bush

Over at The Volokh Conspiracy:
Nick Gillespie offers a highly critical assessment of the Bush presidency in yesterday's WSJ. As Gillespie shows, Bush was a "big government" conservative, and even conservatives who supported the Bush Administration's foreign policy and counter-terror measures should be disappointed with other aspects of his legacy.

If increases in government spending matter, then Mr. Bush is worse than any president in recent history. During his first four years in office -- a period during which his party controlled Congress -- he added a whopping $345 billion (in constant dollars) to the federal budget. The only other presidential term that comes close? Mr. Bush's second term. As of November 2008, he had added at least an additional $287 billion on top of that (and the months since then will add significantly to the bill). To put that in perspective, consider that the spendthrift LBJ added a mere $223 billion in total additional outlays in his one full term.

If spending under Mr. Bush was a disaster, regulation was even worse. The number of pages in the Federal Registry is a rough proxy for the swollen expanse of the regulatory state. In 2001, some 64,438 pages of regulations were added to it. In 2007, more than 78,000 new pages were added. Worse still, argues the Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy, Mr. Bush is the unparalleled master of "economically significant regulations" that cost the economy more than $100 million a year. Since 2001, he jacked that number by more than 70%. Since June 2008 alone, he introduced more than 100 economically significant regulations. . . .

Mr. Bush's legacy is thus a bizarro version of Ronald Reagan's. Reagan entered office declaring that government was not the solution to our problems, it was the problem. Ironically, he demonstrated that government could do some important things right -- he helped tame inflation and masterfully drew the Cold War to a nonviolent triumph for the Free World. By contrast, Mr. Bush has massively expanded the government along with the sense that government is incompetent.

That is no small accomplishment -- and its pernicious effects will last long after Mr. Bush has moved back to Texas.

My biggest disappointments with Bush were: #1 spending, #2 illegal immigration. And #1 was far up there on my disappointment scale, especially once the Medicare expansion took place. Sigh...

Obama flips Michigan the bird!

No joke. This from the freep today: The One, in his infinite wisdom, has deemed it necessary to sign another executive order. This time, it targets the automotive industry (you know, the one that is currently thriving?) by allowing each of the 50 states in the union to set emission standards. From the article:

The New York Times reported Sunday evening on its Web site that Obama would clear the way for individual states to exceed national fuel economy and emissions standards. Detroit and foreign automakers have waged a lengthy legal fight against California's rules, which set new limits on vehicle emissions to fight global warming. (emphasis mine)

Global warming? That old chestnut? You mean the same global warming that hasn't causes an iota of temperature rise since 1998? The one that has caused the most arctic ice cover since 1979? The same global warming that has caused the oceans to cool since 2003? The global warming of 'hockey stick' fame? The one forced on us by those horrible CO2 emissions? The one setting low temperature records all over the place this winter? THAT global warming? Well that's just great! What does the auto industry have to say?

Such rules would lead to fuel economy targets that automakers and dealers warn would create a patchwork of state laws, drive up costs and limit sales.

Sounds about right to me. So let me get this straight: states should have the right to regulate the naturally-occurring, and vital compound to all surface vegetation known as CO2, but they should have zero say in the murder of countless unborn? FOCA? Hello? Isn't this the same guy that just signed an executive order forcing my hard-earned tax dollars into the bloody hands of the abortion industry abroad? Why yes. Yes he is.

So it appears that Obama's priorities, tracked by his signing of executive orders, is this:

#1: Help the plight of the terrorists over in Gitmo (the ones who, once released, lead efforts of terror once again). Check!
#2: Abortion for everyone. With taxpayer dollars. Just have to be overseas. (But that's OK, FOCA is coming to a death dealer near you) Check!
#3: Screw the auto industry really bad by letting states make up silly fuel standards based on a non-existent ecological crisis of biblical proportion? Check!

I'm just waiting for #4 to come out soon. Take away kids lollipops? Atomic wedgies for all adults over 21?

So I'm just wondering, how are any of his executive orders supposed to help anyone here in Michigan or nationwide? Do any of these things help the economy? No. Just the opposite. Do they make us safer? No. Just the opposite. This is all red meat for the tinfoil hat-wearing, kool-aid drinking loony fringe left. So much for the era of post-partisanship.

Just remember, the UAW wanted this guy. A guy that despises the auto industry. Sure they'll get more bailout money to keep the racket going a bit longer without any fix to the systemic problems facing the auto industry. But that, along with this exectuive order, may well be the final nail in their own coffin. Can anyone say "thank you sir, may I have another?"

Football withdrawal

Hands shaking. Jittery. A loss of color. That's how I feel today, a perfectly nice, but crisp Sunday afternoon. Why all the effects? Likely because every single week at this time, since late summer, I have been firmly planted on the couch watching whatever football was offered through the local stations. Hey - NFL football is NFL football. Even here, in the land of the 0-16 Detroit Lions. In any case, for those that dwell on football nostalgia, they used to play the Superbowl the week after the NFC and AFC championship games. In that light, today would be the silver anniversary of the 1984 Superbowl ad that has become iconic. Caroline McCarthy over at CNET has a roundup of the ad here. Here's the ad in full:

Now I have to admit that I was not the football fan in my youth that I am now, and hardly remember the drubbing that the Redskins were given by the Raiders (yeah - THOSE Raiders from the long gone glory days). Nor do I remember the ad as a mac ad. Just the whole 'big brother' imagery, which has been used by others in the distant, and more recent, past. For instance, this Obama ad ran before the Democratic primary (and was pulled shortly thereafter):

Dissent = Treason?:

A few days ago, I had a post titled "Is Dissent Still Patrriotic?" Today, the Anchoress has more on that subject:

No, wait, dissent is still the very highest, ultimate form of patriotism. No, really. It is. And asking questions is good. Except when it’s not. Then it’s “obstruction.” It’s complicated. Back when Bush was president, it was okay (and good, and healthy for democracy) if you said the president was a terrorist, and a nazi-fascist, who should be assassinated. Now, if you just hope the president fails at promoting socialist policies, well…that’s arguably treasonist, baby, “arguably treasonist.” Got that? Wanna fantasize about assasination, actively work to expose sensitive policies in wartime and incessantly talk down the economy for one president? That’s alllllll good! Hope the other one fails? Treason. Evil treeeaasson!

Funny how fast a tune can change, eh?

California passes the tipping point

Betsy Newmark had this interesting roundup on California's self-imposed financial crisis:

Shannon Love writes at Chicago Boyz that California has reached the point of no
return:

"Instead of state employees working for the people, the people now work for the state employees. As far as the state government is concerned, people in the private sector work merely so that they can be taxed for the benefit of the tax consumers. They’ve entered a condition not unlike like that of pre-industrial serfs.

Of course no one is being whipped, but in effect an ordinary citizen of California cannot get their desires for reduced state spending implemented due to the disproportionate power of the State’s employees and allied interest. It appears now that the government unions will not accept any solution to California’s budget crisis except increased taxes in a declining economy. Ordinary citizens have no choice but to either emigrate or just lie there and take it. "

If you're an ordinary California taxpayer, you might want to think about that emigration possibility. This is the San Diego Union Tribune editorial that prompted her conclusion that they'd passed the tipping point.

"Controller John Chiang, a Democrat who aspires to be governor, is refusing to enforce Schwarzenegger's order that state workers take two unpaid furlough days a month beginning Feb. 1 to ensure the government has enough money to continue to perform its basic functions.

Why? Chiang says it is illegal. To the contrary, established case law gives government bodies considerable leeway during emergencies. The unions challenging the furlough plan are going to need to establish that such an emergency doesn't exist. Good luck with that.

But questions about Chiang's intercession go far beyond the flimsiness of his assertion that the furlough plan is illegal. Even if it were, when did voters pass a constitutional amendment giving the controller power to veto the governor's decisions?

The answer, of course, is that they never did and never would. Voters know there can be only one governor at a time.

Considered in this context, Chiang's actions border on a bureaucratic coup d'état. It looks even more like a coup when you consider that Chiang is about to unilaterally implement his own plan to deal with the cash-flow crunch. When it was announced last week, most of the attention focused on his intention to withhold $1.9 billion in state tax refunds. More attention should have focused on Chiang's move to withhold $188 million in assistance to more than 1 million aged, blind and disabled Californians – money they rely on for food, rent and utility bills.

They are not going to be inconvenienced by Chiang's decision. Their lives will be grossly disrupted. But the controller doesn't care. He's taken care of his top priority: protecting public employees. He knows the unions always will remember this massive favor. "

Adds Betsy: "As more and more taxpayers with opportunities elsewhere move out, how will the state survive with the only ones left being just those "tax consumers?" " I think this relates also to government job growth in the face of private job shedding, which is a nationwide phenomenon, but which is grossly exaggerated in California. California is a case-in-point of what happens when you have a near democrat-hegemony. It already happens in big urban cities (Detroit, anyone?).

Obama’s Evangelicals: The Liberals’ New Useful Idiots

Saw this over at townhall by Doug Giles:

If it’s change you wanted, “Christian,” it’s change you’re about to get, as in more unborn babies are going to get offed, more Brad and Chad, and if things go Obama’s way, chunks of Scripture will officially get tagged as hate speech, your church will have to hire RuPaul or face punishment, and our military will have to make room for Chippendale dancers on the base partly because of you, the Obama evangelical, who voted for such a change.

Ouch! Although there is a growing movement of the "evangelical left" that wouldn't blink an eye to this.

Kroger system redeems coupons from cell phones

I saw this headline over at the Detroit News this morning. My shopping preferences came to mind. I tend to do more shopping at Costco and Sam's Club than anywhere else. I do so for the cost. Sam's Club is the place I go for meat (I eat at least a pound of lean beef and two pounds of chicken breast daily). Chicken breast for $1.88/lb. 90% lean beef for $2.88/lb. I go to Costco for about everything else. Including my broccoli, which they sell for $4.55 for a 3-lb bag of florets (I eat almost a pound each day). One thing I've noticed about the broc is that sometimes I will see the bags ready to expire the very next day. At $4.55. I always wondered what they did with it once it expired, so I asked a stockboy one day. His answer: "we throw it away." Throw it away! My question, which I didn't ask the stockboy, was why not mark it down dramatically before it expires, so that Costco at least get part of something, rather than all of nothing? Which leads me to Kroger.

Probably in the last 6 months or so, something changed in the store. Almost overnight, there were 'clearance items;' items close to expiration that were marked down dramatically. Gallon milk to expire in a few days? $0.99. 32oz yogurt ready to go bad? $0.50. My kids tend to go through a gallon or so of milk daily, so I have found myself going to Kroger whenever I pass by, just to see if there are any clearance items around. This has to be a win-win for Kroger. They get something for food that they would have had to throw away, plus more visits from this customer making it more likely that I would pick up other goods as well. I thought this to be innovative. So it's nice to see Kroger trying to keep up with technology and offering the e-coupon option now. Could better days be ahead for Kroger? With such innovation, I would think so.

Mitch Albom: The worst lies of all? The ones you expect

I saw this article on the freep this morning. Mitch's thesis? "I think we've become a country that believes that. We accept business lies. We almost expect them. " Ironic, but not surprising, that Mitch blames the business community for lying, while he, at the same time, works for the Detroit Free Press which itself spews liberal lies on a daily basis. Of course, Mitch doesn't see his own hypocrisy in this. Must be nice to lie within the liberal cocoon/echo chamber and sprain your elbow patting yourself on the back in self-congratulation for the lies of business that you are complicit in. I've mentioned Mitch's liberal bias before (here and here are two examples) in both his columns and his talk radio program. If Mitch wants to see the worst lies of all, he should stick to reading the pages of the Free Press, which has long abandoned objective journalism (reporting the news) to their most recent objective: forming public opinion. Mitch is correct about one thing - I've accepted long ago that the Free Press lies. And I expect it.

Harry Reid: Tax System Is Voluntary

I can't believe that this is real, but it sure looks to be (via moonbattery):

The hockey stick hoax

This was a classic from a few years ago - a graph purported to prove that anthropogenic global warming was indeed real. This was a centerpiece of Gore's fear-mongering. The researchers that made it refused to disclose their data, even though the study was funded with taxpayer money. In the end, it was proven to be a hoax (Did I mention it was funded by taxpayer money?). This should have been the nail in the coffin for the alarmists. Unfortunately, the controversy went right down the memory hole (surprise, surprise...). In any case, Powerline had a few things to say about it today. Here's the famous graph above climate data in Europe over the same time period (via moonbattery). See any differences? Yeah - me neither. Adds powerline: "The "hockey stick" graph had the virtue, from the alarmists' perspective, of "getting rid of" the Medieval Warm Period, which had always been acknowledged as the predecessor to the Little Ice Age and our own era, in which temperatures have recovered from the Little Ice Age..."

More:

More recent scientific work has thoroughly debunked the Mann "hockey stick" analysis. It has been shown to rest on "collation errors, unjustified truncation or extrapolation of source data, obsolete data, incorrect principal component calculations, geographical mislocations and other serious defects," as well as
"incorrect mathematics." There are indications, at least, that some of the errors on the part of Mann and his collaborators were deliberate--an instance of the corruption of science by politics and perverse financial incentives that underlies the entire global warming movement.

Andrew Bostom provides an excellent short summary of the significance of the hockey stick and its debunking by more rigorous scientists, which is readily understandable by the lay reader.

If you really want to worry about the climate, consider the fact
that we are due for another ice age.

UPDATE: Then there's this bar graph showing 2009 priorities (HT:moonbattery):

My guess is that BHO better be careful with this. It's a hot potato ready to burn him.

More on the stimulus Nazi

Remember the Robert Reich story I blogged about a few days ago? Michelle Malkin was on FoxNews to discuss the controversy:

(HT:HA)

Unsuccessful Iowa Legal Writing Faculty Candidate Sues, Claiming Discrimination Due to Her Conservative Views

This story via taxprof:

Teresa R. Wagner, Associate Director of the University of Iowa College of Law Writing Resource Center, has filed a lawsuit against the school and its dean, Tax Prof Carolyn Jones, claiming that she was twice rejected for a legal writing faculty position because of her conservative political views. From the Chroncile of Higher Education and Des Moines Register:

She argues that affiliations listed on her résumé, including stints with groups like the National Right to Life Committee, did her in with a liberal-leaning faculty. To bolster her case, the lawsuit dissects the political affiliations of the approximately 50 faculty members who vote on law-school faculty hires; 46 of them are registered as Democrats and only one, hired 20 years ago, is a Republican, the lawsuit states. Ms. Wagner also says that a law-school associate dean suggested that she conceal her affiliation with a conservative law school [Ave Maria] and later told her not to apply for any more faculty positions.

"She just wants to make it known that conservatives need not apply," Wagner's lawyer, Stephen Fieweger of Moline, Ill., said. "Liberals talk about diversity, except when it comes to bringing in a different, conservative point of view."

I'm shocked by this. Just shocked! How did a Republican get in???

Video: The surprisingly obligatory “school apologizes for winning 100-0″ clip

I wrote about this story yesterday. Here's an update (with video) via HotAir.

Chris Matthews: Palin’s book will do well “if she can read”

From HotAir: "I don’t think he meant it the way it came out, but Politico does. And I concede, I have no alternate explanation." Here's the video:

I don't have an alternate explanation either. Who does Mathews think writes Obama's speaches? Why can he not say anything without a teleprompter? He thinks Obama wrote his books himself too? Not likely.

Obama to GOP leaders: Stop listening to Rush Limbaugh

Sound pretty small for a sitting President? When I first hear this on Drudgereport, my first thought was "hasn't it been the 90's since Republicans listened to Rush?" Second thought was "that'll do it for getting the fairness doctrine in this term." Right on cue, HotAir has similar thoughts:

Haven’t they already? (stopped listening to Rush)
President Obama warned Republicans on Capitol Hill today that they need to quit listening to radio king Rush Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats and the new administration.

“You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done,” he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package. One White House official confirmed the comment but said he was simply trying to make a larger point about bipartisan efforts.

Smart points in response from Tom Maguire, especially number three. If, contra his campaign rhetoric, The One really does plan on bringing back Fairness, he just made
his task of selling it to the public as a nonpartisan measure not aimed squarely at conservative talk radio a lot harder.

The Rush responded:

via Byron York: To make the argument about me instead of his plan makes sense from his perspective. Obama’s plan would buy votes for the Democrat Party, in the same way FDR’s New Deal established majority power for 50 years of Democrat rule, and it would also simultaneously seriously damage any hope of future tax cuts. It would allow a majority of American voters to guarantee no taxes for themselves going forward. It would burden the private sector and put the public sector in permanent and firm control of the economy. Put simply, I believe his stimulus is
aimed at re-establishing “eternal” power for the Democrat Party rather than stimulating the economy because anyone with a brain knows this is NOT how you stimulate the economy. If I can be made to serve as a distraction, then there is
that much less time debating the merits of this TRILLION dollar debacle.

Didn't Rush have this happen to him recently, perpetrated by none other than Colin "RINO" Powell? And didn't Rush take Powell to the back of the shed for it? Why yes. Yes he did! (And it was GOOD!)

This would be a pretty crappy meal if you asked me

Taiwan's Modern Toilet Restaurant. (HT: Emily Monticello)

Repercussions already???

I'm surprised, but in a good way. I think BHO made a very bad decision to lift the moratorium on taxpayer funding of abortion overseas (that's 2 for 2 counting Gitmo). In any case, the London Telegraph today has a devastating piece on Obama (surprising negativity considering the source). Here's a snippet posted this morning by Michelle Malkin:

This will end in tears. The Obama hysteria is not merely embarrassing to witness, it is itself contributory to the scale of the disaster that is coming. What we are experiencing, in the deepening days of a global depression, is the desperate suspension of disbelief by people of intelligence - la trahison des clercs - in a pathetic effort to hypnotise themselves into the delusion that it will be all right on the night. It will not be all right……

To anyone who kept his head, the string of Christmas cracker mottoes booming through the public address system on Washington’s National Mall can only excite scepticism. It is crucial to recall the reality that lies behind the rhetoric. Denouncing “those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents” comes ill from a man whose flagship legislation, the Freedom of Choice Act, will impose abortion, including partial-birth abortion, on every state in the Union. It seems the era of Hope is to be inaugurated with a slaughter of the innocents.

Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is like one of those toxic packages traded by bankers: it camouflages many unaffordable gifts to his client state. With a federal deficit already at $1.2 trillion, Obama wants to squander $825 billion (which will undoubtedly mushroom to more than $1 trillion) on creating 600,000 more government jobs and a further 459,000 in “green energy” (useless wind turbines and other Heath-Robinson contraptions favoured by Beltway environmentalists).

It is frightening to think there is a real possibility that the entire world economy could go into complete meltdown and famine kill millions. Yet Western - and British - commentators are cocooned in a warm comfort zone of infatuation with America’s answer to Neil Kinnock. We should be long past applauding politicians of any hue: they got us into this mess. The best deserve a probationary opportunity to prove themselves, the worst should be in jail.

(emphasis mine)

Conformity’s Seduction

A good article by Mark Steyn with the subline "Oh, yes, yes, yessssssss, we can!"

How dazzling is President Obama? So dazzling that he didn’t merely give a dazzling inaugural speech. Any old timeserving hack could do that. Instead, he had the sheer genius to give a flat dull speech full of the usual shopworn boilerplate. Brilliant! At a stroke, he not only gently lowered the expectations of those millions of Americans and billions around the world for whom his triumphant ascendancy is the only thing that gives their drab little lives any meaning, but also emphasized continuity by placing his unprecedented incandescent megastar cool squarely within the tradition of squaresville yawneroo white middle-aged plonking mediocrities who came before him.

Ouch! There's more. Read the whole thing (very good). (HT: HA)

$1.5 Billion in MI Reform Choices

The Center for Michigan has compiled a list of more than $1.5 billion in hard choices for budget cuts and reforms to the way Michigan's public sector does the public's business. (HT: Cameron Brown)

I'm curious if any of these even have a chance with the dems controlling the State House and the Legislature. Could more tax increases be on the way?

There are bad answers, and then there are no answers

How many jobs is the $1,000,000,000,000 stimulus package going to create? Curious minds (a minority on the Hill, apparently) want to know.

(HT:MCT)

If you are a civil libertarian,

Here's a good challenge in the sideblog at americandigest:

if you are in the ACLU or a law professor, or a liberal in good standing who swore that George Bush from Texas, with strut and twang and mangled vocabulary, destroyed your liberties with FISA, with the Patriot Act, and with Iraq, then please extend that outrage to Barack Obama, for whom all such shredding of the Constitution suddenly has become merely complex and problematic rather than fascistic. Please list, cite, name just one instance from 2002-8 in which you lost your freedom, or you were censored on the library internet, or you were followed around by the FBI, or your letter to the editor earned a wiretap, or even one instance of the loss of any freedom under Bush-- and if so, just one example of how the election of Obama has once again restored your lost liberty. Nothing in the abstract, please-- something concrete, an example both real and personal. -Works and Days - An Uneasy Feeling