JOY TO THE WORLD: an election year without Keith Olbermann.

"PERHAPS A DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM can survive having chosen fools as its leaders. But, history shows time and again that a nation of fools is surely doomed."

AN ODE TO THE WELFARE STATE.

ESTABLISHMENT SENATE REPUBLICAN: sets himself up for defeat.

VIDEO OF COMET LOVEJOY as it approaches the sun. Apparently the comet survived it's close approach, although much diminished.

FACT CHECK: Unicorns do exist!

MICHAEL BARONE: Obama succeeds abroad when he follows Bush and Clinton. Reality has a way of 'pushing back'. Obama may control the ship of state, but he can't control the seas in which it floats.

JEFF JACOBY: Hurray for gridlock.

PROBLEMS AND THE PROBLEM: an incoherent view of the economy. It's from the Left, naturally.

THAT'S BEING CHARITABLE: Economists rate Obama's policies 'fair' or 'poor'.

CRIME IN WASHINGTON DC has increased since 'Occupy DC' arrived three months ago.

GOP should stick to tax cutting.

The political reality is that comprehensive tax and entitlement reform was never going to get done in the last two weeks of the year and won’t next year under President Obama, either. Long-term and pro-growth tax and entitlement reform has no chance of occurring till at least 2013.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying.

WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED? Occupiers charged with assaulting police.

DON'T ABANDON the conservative message, sell it.

PAUL RYAN: 2011 Conservative of the Year.

DOES THE EARTH WOBBLE? Why yes, yes it does.

NO ICE CREAM FOR CONGRESS: Spoiled brats shouldn't be rewarded for jobs unfinished.

"THE COUNTRY will not accept a permanent class of technocrats that will diminish freedom, enhance crony capitalism and allow the economy to enter some sort of managed decline."

SHOULD YOU WAIT to take Social Security? Generally, yes. The chart presented is identical to the one I made for myself years ago when I had to make the decision to retire at 62 or wait until 67 (my normal retirement age). I waited.

JEFF JACOBY: Affirmative action begets more affirmative action -- to the detriment of the intended beneficiaries.

INCONCEIVABLE! Politically-connected investors influencing government subsidies?

DOWN THE TUBES: As California goes, so goes the nation.

DISASTER FORENSICS: Some thoughts on making power and telecommunication grids more disaster resistant.

GOOD: Romney stump speech rattles left.

JEEZ: OWS protestors to march after the Rose Parade. One can hope that the TV broadcasts cut off immediately after the last float passes.

THROWING A DROWNING AMERICA AN ANCHOR: EPA announces historic rule to clean or shut coal-burning power plants.

ED FEULNER: The hidden strengths of a civil society.

A BOB HOPE CHRISTMAS



Thanks for the memories.

AND A MERRY TEXAS CHRISTMAS.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

SILENT NIGHT.

Some history is here.

SNOW ANGEL

HOW I FOUND MY CHRISTMAS SPIRIT.

REINDEER ONE has been cleared for takeoff.

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Merry Christmas from Clement Clarke Moore or Henry Livingston.

JONAH GOLDBERG on Christmas: "T]he supposed champions of making Christmas more "inclusive" should at least ponder the irony that they are being intolerant. If you take offense when someone says "Merry Christmas," you, quite simply, are the jerk."

IT'S A GOOD START: In Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback puts tea party tenets into action with sharp cuts.

SMALL COUNTRY, GREAT LEADER. In America, we have a great country with a small leader.

KEYSTONE XL: Create wealth, not jobs.

GOOD: Romney stump speech rattles left.

HOW DO YOU STOP NEWT? Are you sure you want to?

ADAPTIVE REUSE: Live longer and prosper.

“Live long and prosper” once sounded like the most logical of greetings: good wishes everyone could agree on. But now that people are actually experiencing significantly longer lives ... attitudes have changed. Longevity has come to portend “an aging society” and the very opposite of prosperity.

The fears are far more profound than mere fiscal concerns about Social Security and Medicare. Illustrating a common reaction, Los Angeles Times columnist Gregory Rodriguez warns of ... “a less optimistic and forward-thinking culture.” Looking at Japan’s “exhausted” and “depressed” but otherwise healthy elderly, he fears “an epidemic of loneliness and ennui.” His conclusion: “Be careful what you wish for. You could make it to 100, with consequences as onerous as the ones you ate right and exercised to avoid.”

Buried in this column is a crucial assumption: that people over 65 will be retired. They’ll withdraw from active engagement with younger colleagues, from productive problem-solving, from the world outside their seniors-only enclaves. They’ll spend 20 or 30 years playing golf, watching TV, and chasing people off their lawns. They’ll occasionally visit the grandkids, but mostly they’ll wait to die.

Postrel argues, correctly I think, that that needn't be the case. But her argument in favor of 'adaptive reuse' fails in the implicit assumption that people nearing retirement age want to repurpose their lives and are wealthy enough to indulge is quasi-amateur/volunteer work.

There is a strong societal imperative to gently -- and sometimes not so gently -- ease the productive older workers out of the workforce and into a reluctant retirement. Thus the 'adaptive reuse' strategy should be applied to society, not the individual, in such a way that the older worker can ease him/herself into retirement -- or not -- as he/she sees fit.

Unfortunately, the current societal imperative is this:

Other than the unborn, no single age group in the United States suffers from a diminished view of the value of human life more than the elderly. Rather than viewing our aging relatives as persons worthy of our utmost reverence and care, [the Roe v. Wade ethic] has taught us to look at other people in terms perceived convenience. If someone is wanted – if we feel that they contribute to our overall quality of life – then their life has worth; if not, it is permissible to store them away somewhere for others to care for until they die.

Connor's view is dark and gloomy; much more so than is warranted. And yet ... and yet. Look around at the Senior centers, the retirement communities, the nursing homes -- what is their purpose other than to entertain and otherwise distract the nonproductive until they have the courtesy to die?

A NEW TERM for that old standby, common sense. When will we ever learn that Big Government inevitably becomes Bad Government?

IF YOU THOUGHT Climategate 1 was bad, read about Climategate 2 (long post).

MORE: Willis Eschenbach (Watts Up With That?) applies the screws (another long post).

Gist of both posts: the 'climategaters' are lying bastards.

WHY CAN'T WE put the "X" back in Xmas? It's not just the schools, of course, they're just another indicator.

Here's the question I'd ask instead.

It's pretty clear that the secular, multi-culti Left is leading the charge against Christmas, so here is my question. To the Left, all cultures are equal, there is no objective reality, and tolerance for all cultures is the rule. So ... if all that is true, and Christian cultures are equal to secular cultures, Santa is no more real than the keyboard I'm typing on, and tolerance is required, why the vociferous hatred for Christmas and all its symbols?

Could it be that deep down, where they're shallow, that they know that cultures aren't equal, there is an objective reality, and tolerance should be reserved for those who deserve it?

Just a thought.

OPEN YOUR HEART AT CHRISTMAS and help a gun find a good home.

MICHAEL BARONE on the Ryan-Wyden Medicare plan. My hope is that the plan will be amended to allow those over 55 (and 65) to opt out of current Medicare as well.

NEAL BOORTZ: Gingrich on immigration. Gingrich is right.

THE NEW DOMESTICITY: It seems to me to be the latest version of "Hey, look at me. See how cool and hip I am?"

I HAVE A DREAM: "[W]hat would happen if the media treated the Republicans and Libertarians as well as they treated Democrats for one year?"

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: Stop the Killer Space Rocks.

Astroids (Eros is pictured) are the new space aliens out to destroy mankind.

Malevolence in nature?

THREE YEARS IN OBAMALAND Registration required; it's free and worth the price.

MILTON FRIEDMAN on economics.

NOT ANY MORE. We used to make things ....

CREDIT THE FEDS for a boom in shale gas? Nope. The authors mistake R&D, which is a legitimate role for government, with production, which is the proper role of the private sector's entrepreneurial spirit.

THE LAST THING I NEED: 'New Distinctiveness' in the news. The Associated Press appears to be following Fox's Shephard Smith in smarmy.

DAMN THE RICH! They keep getting married -- and getting richer. What Ms. Marcus fails to note is that the 'marriage gap' has been around as long as marriage.

CAN, ROAD, KICK: Hopefully the road ends on January 21, 2013.

OCCUPY SANTA:


Linked from here.

ONE GRINCH TOO MANY. Here's my response for my granddaughters:

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

I will not let the Grinches steal the joys of Christmas. Our world has thousands of Santa Clauses, angels, cupids, tooth fairies, and Easter bunnies. Their world has ..., well, is ... a grim, dark, and dismal world.

Even the unicorns and rainbows have deserted them.

MARTIN JET PACK: Just in time for Christmas!

OBAMACARE: The probable destruction of medical innovation. Get sick now before it's too late.

LOW CARBON FUEL STANDARDS: So let California refine its own 'low carbon' fuel -- it'll wither on the vine soon enough.

OCCUPY LA: 30 tons of social justice.

BARACK OBAMA: the self-approving President. Polls? I don't need no steenkin' polls.

THE DANGERS OF OVER-AUTOMATION: Air France Flight 447's final minutes.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE: Just another free lunch to be paid by our children.

ANOTHER OBAMA SUCCESS: "At least 60 people were killed today in 14 bomb attacks in Baghdad following the withdrawal of US troops this week."

HARSH. But accurate.

NANCY PELOSI: "160 million Americans will have their taxes increased if the payroll tax cut extension does not pass."



Note that she almost said "tax increase." Plus the minor fact that there are only 140 million Americans employed today. My favorite comment: "To call Pelosi stupid is to insult stupid."

THE EUROPEAN SKIES are about to get a lot less crowded.

MICHELLE OBAMA'S child nutrition campaign. "It's a recipe for more half-baked progressivism served with a side order of bitter arugula."

JOHN STOSSEL: ObamaCare and the economy.

VERONIQUE DE RUGY: Occupy AARP. Read the comments, which are all over the place.

LIES AND DEMOCRATS: So it's a lie for Republicans say they're not ending Medicare -- even if they're replacing it with something much better?

"FORCING AMERICANS to guess what federal tax policy will be every December is no way to run a modern competitive economy. Two-month tax extensions are even more ridiculous."

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS from the retirement lane. When a cat meows, it means either feed me, pet me, or open the damned door.

THE CASE for hiring professionals. I'm not against hiring a pro -- provided he or she knows who's paying the bills ....

SECRET MOONS: Are they studying us?

SPACE-X: A reusable rocket system:


The key question seems to be whether the savings associated with reusable boosters will offset the added cost of fuel for the return flight. Space-X seems to think so.

GOLDVEIN DAY TRIP. A few weeks ago, we took a day trip to visit the Gold Mine Museum near Goldvein, one of the few gold mining camps in early 1900's Virginia. Here are some photos. The buildings are new, but historically accurate, since the mining camps no longer exist.

A typical camp layout.


The camp mess hall; the bunkrooms were similar in design, with room for up to 30 miners crowded within.


The Assayer's Office. The building is similar to the others, and the equipment visible is of that period.




Hornet balls. They were filled with ore, then rolled around the mine floor to crush the ore from which the gold was extracted.


The docent was very knowledgeable, and we enjoyed the visit.

NARCISSISM AND ARROGANCE COMBINED: Teachers Union President Deems Education Too Complex for Tax-Paying Rubes.

YOU CAN only cry 'wolf' for a limited period of time.

DIET.

HERE'S THE perfect Occupy poster child. The 'Gimme' Generation

A REASON TO VOTE FOR GINGRICH? "When you don't accomplish much, you don't ruffle many feathers." Read it all.

DELTA EMPLOYEE HONOR GUARD CEREMONY



The story is here.

TAKE THE QUIZ: Which presidential candidate most nearly matches your opinion? The quiz asks you to both select an answer for each issue and then weight the issue in terms of importance to you.

My first matches were Huntsman and Santorum, neither of whom is at the top of my list. My top two, in fact, were at the bottom. On retaking the quiz (changing one answer) and changing the weights, my top two matches were Bachmann and Perry. One of the two is on my short list.

The variability is due, I think, to the remarkable consistency of the Republicans on the major issues, the fact that the answer selections tend toward the extremes of each candidate's position, and the weights. Without changing my answers, I can bring almost any candidate to the top merely by changing the weighting.

Try it yourself.

THE TOTAL COST ... for a 17-day round trip vacation to Hawaii for the President and his family and staff and security is an estimated $4,113,038.

That's interesting, but it's only taxpayer money. Here's a more interesting fact: both Presidents Bush spent every Christmas holiday at Camp David in Maryland so their security details would be able to spend as much of their Christmas time as possible at home.

Linked from the PJ Tatler.

IN LESS THAN SIX WEEKS, 56,000 people applied for a permit under Wisconsin's new concealed carry law and thousands more bought handguns, swamping the state agency handling the required background checks.

It's beginning to become evident that people are becoming less trustful of the government to keep them safe and secure.

TERRY PAULSON: The Lighter Side of Conservative Truths.

PHOTOS from the new World Trade Center tower.

THE HUMANITIES' REAL ENEMIES: "The humanities are indeed in mortal peril, if not dead already. But neither our governors nor our state legislators are the assassins. Our humanities professors are."

THERE WOULD BE MORE UNICORNS if Democrats would quit eating them for lunch.

More on unicorns here.

IRAN PREPARES its first team of astronauts for space. First defection from space now expected in 2017.

WALL STREET JOURNAL: The EPA'S Fracking Scare. Wouldn't want to further endanger the government's wind and solar subsidies, now would we?

OFFSHORE OIL & GAS LEASE SALE: Small Companies Stay Away in Droves. Big Oil is easier to control -- and more profitable; Little Oil can easily be regulated out of existence.

NARCISSIST IN CHIEF: Only three other presidents might outrank me.

PAUL GREENBERG: Innocence in Triplicate.

GO GREEN and pollute the planet. Those pesky unintended consequences never go away.

A VOTERS' GUIDE TO REPUBLICANS:



Linked from Hot Air.

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING.

ARROGANCE: Thou Shalt Not Question UN Experts.

GOVERNMENT IS A RACKET for the benefit of special interests. Read it all and check out the linked videos.

I THINK NOT: Do We Need Big Government?

THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA - and Bill O'Reilly for that matter - are aways warning us that there are some really frightening (usually rightwing) nutcases lurking about the intertubes. Here's an example. See if you can read beyond the first page.

SOON TO BE FORMER Iowa State journalism professor, safely residing in Michigan, insults his state. The facts, roughly speaking, are true - as they are with much of rural America. But the analysis spin drips of penis envy.

IowaHawk explains.

AN END to illegal immigration?

OBAMA'S LETTER TO SANTA: Merry Christmas!

The White House
Office of the President

December 16, 2011

Dear Mr. Claus:

As we celebrate the joyous season of Christmas, I know that I speak for many Americans in wishing you well on your trip around the globe and thanking you for the joy that you spread on an annual basis. You know I’ve always been a fan of yours – anyone who spends most of their time handing out gifts to people who did nothing to earn them is all right by me.

Despite my personal affection, however, the responsibilities of the presidency compel me to speak out when there are wrongs that need to be redressed. And as you saw when my administration attempted to levy a tax on Christmas trees earlier this year, we make no exceptions for the holidays. As such, I must inform you that your Christmas rounds will have to be cancelled this year unless you agree to abide by the following rules and regulations set out by my administration:

ALL ELVES in your workshop are to be immediately unionized. Should you fail to comply with this directive, the National Labor Relations Board is prepared to bring suit and demand that all assembly be done at a closed shop in Michigan that pays three times the prevailing wage and provides six weeks of leave time at full pay.

EVERY MILE your sleigh travels over American airspace must be offset by the purchase of carbon credits. If your team can provide sufficient documentation to prove that this is an excessive financial burden, we are prepared to subsidize the purchase of a hybrid sleigh, though you will need to stop to charge the vehicle approximately once every 30 minutes.

THE FIRST LADY is concerned that your weight sets a bad example for America’s children. In order to counteract the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States, you will no longer be allowed to consume milk and cookies in American homes. We have no intention of ruining a cherished tradition, however, so we will be instructing parents throughout the nation that it is acceptable to leave you a glass of tomato juice and a plate of tofu.

OUR DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION has substantial concerns about your employment of "naughty and nice lists," which have been deemed injurious to the self-esteem of America’s young people. We realize this is a valuable part of your inventory process, so we are happy to let the practice continue, provided that the lists now be referred to as "Good A" and "Good B."

THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT has directed that you remain silent about the firearms we have asked you to deliver to Mexico in the past few years.

WE KNOW you are considering retiring in the near future. While not a directive, we would ask that you consider Vice President Biden as your replacement. We frequently find him talking to reindeer for no good reason, and feel that it would be useful to at least put that tendency to work in a productive fashion.

I realize that many of these requests may seem onerous. However, America has always been a place where we routinely sacrifice for the good of others, and that’s what we believe we are asking you to do here. We want you to think of us as your federal family – collaborators, not regulators. We’re here to help. In fact, there’s even a chance that you could be eligible for stimulus money if you’re willing to adhere to a few basic requirements (such as delivering presents in proportion to a state’s number of electoral votes).

I apologize if any of this presents an inconvenience. Please know that Michelle and I still consider you a good friend.

You’re always welcome in our house,

President Barack Obama

From my email.

PRESIDENT OBAMA in Osawatomie. "[O]n the whole, the president was pretty transparent about his belief that big government makes everything better."

A transcript of his speech can be found here.

AT LEAST THEY STILL LET US DRIVE. But for how much longer?

HOW A BAILOUT really works.

RANDOM THOUGHTS from the retirement lane. Effective January first, 100-watt incandescent light bulbs will be banned in the U.S. by an act of environmental stupidity. So when my supply of 100-watt bulbs gives out (in a year or two) I'll end up replacing the fixtures where I need 100-watt bulbs with fixtures that will hold two 60-watt bulbs.

So consider this: where I now use a single incandescent bulb that consumes 100 watts of electrical power and produces 1440 lumens of light output, I will eventually use two bulbs consuming 120 watts of electrical power and producing 1580 lumens of light output (which I could use, by the way, as my eyes are getting older).

So for all practical purposes, I will get a modest 9% improvement in light quality by paying a 20% increase in the cost of electricity for every 100-watt bulb I replace. Plus the cost of the new fixture.

All in the name of "improving energy efficiency."

UPDATE: Temporary reprieve.

ANDREW KLAVAN: Wall Street on Trial.



Linked from here.

I MUST BE doing something right -- I just got a hit on this blog from the U.S. Senate office of the Sergeant at Arms.

SPHINX WITHOUT A RIDDLE. Those who fail to learn history are condemn us all to repeat it.

CLIMATE CORRUPTION 101: "[I]n the name of 'climate', the United Nations wishes to regulate and tax the economy of the planet — stripping resources from the most productive economies to hand them out as assorted UN bureaucrats deem fit."

It's well past time to withdraw from the U.N.

FORMER SENATOR EVERETT DIRKSEN: A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon it adds up to real money. House passes one trillion dollar (annual!) budget bill.

IN THE LONG RUN paternalism doesn't look all that great to me.

Linked from here.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The rise of the new German empire.

NEWT IS RIGHT: I'm glad I cleaned the bathrooms.

"YOU'RE CARRYING WATER for the Mexican on the Fourth Floor."

GINGRICH: A walk on the wild side.

Who was the last person to actually cut government? Who was the last person who actually led a movement that balanced the federal budget? . . . The last time there was true welfare reform, the last time government was cut, Gingrich did it.

[W]hen government last made progress he was part of it. They have a very practical sense of politics now. The heroic era of the presidency is dead. They are not looking to like their president or admire him, they just want someone to fix the crisis. The last time helpful things happened in Washington, he was a big part of it. So they may hire him again. Are they put off by his scandals? No. They think all politicians are scandalous.

The criticism of Gingrich reminds me of something I once heard during the time the old Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended: that the Soviets were genuinely fearful that the U.S. was 'crazy enough' to blow them all away. Perhaps it's time to show the world that America is no longer a paper tiger.

DANA LOESCH responds to a Media Matters article blaming Christians for poverty. Read the charts to see who to blame -- they're damning.

As for Media Matters, the best description of their article is a single word: incoherent.

MICHAEL REAGAN: Has the Right gone mad? No, only the Republican establishment, and they'll get their comeuppance in 2014.

COLLEGE SUICIDE leads to new alert. The next step will be a warning label on all college admission letters: "WARNING - the college experience may lead to higher risk of suicide."

SATELLITES AND ASTRONAUTS could one day take off on a rocket carried by the largest aircraft ever flown, cruise to 30,000 feet and then blast into orbit.

Billionaire Paul Allen on Tuesday announced the creation of Huntsville, Ala.-based Stratolaunch Systems to develop a carrier aircraft with a wingspan wider than a football field to carry and deploy a SpaceX rocket. The initiative reunites Microsoft co-founder Allen with legendary aerospace engineer Burt Rutan. They developed SpaceShipOne and together won the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004 for being the first privately funded, manned vehicle to reach space twice in two weeks.

Check the link above to see a short simulation of the flight/launch sequence.

OBAMA'S coming for your email address! I'm not worried; it'll allow me to verify my spam filter -- and my friends.

HUH?

“OWS as a topic of study offers prismatic opportunities to consider the changing shape of inequality in our society and the dynamic processes of repertoire change in social movements globally, from the picket line to the sit-in, to the consideration of life course trajectories, among other themes central to the sociological apprehension of the modern context, ...”

The link is here.

[OCCUPY L.A.] PROTESTER is the face of Time's 'Person of the Year'. Hmm. Based on the impact of the 2010 elections, I would think that the Tea Party might have been so named in 2010. But then they were a force for good, not ill.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS ECSTATIC: WalMart kills birds.

ICE ON THE SOLAR SYSTEM'S HOTTEST PLANET? Messenger spacecraft may be close to proof.

BEN HOWE: The Rick Perry I know. Watch the video.

Also note Howe's 'rule of two' as it relates to the media narrative for the next election.

Linked from here.

NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER survives contact with reality.

THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER endorses Mitt Romney. I'm still not convinced he's the best candidate as the Examiner suggests, since I remain deeply skeptical about the Republican establishment, but I'll vote for Romney should he become the Republican candidate.

GOP FIGHTS FOR [OUR] JOBS; Obama fights for his.

INSTAVISION: The Myths and Realities of the American Cities and Suburbs (registration required; it's free).

RANDOM THOUGHTS from the retirement lane: the only growth industry in the American economy today is the "we're from the government and we're here to help you" industry.

CONSERVATIVE COLLEGE STUDENTS battle liberal academia with a new website.

Here's a sample.

Drop by early and often.

DICK MORRIS: What motivates Obama?

CONVERTING PLASTIC TO OIL:



Let's hope it's commercially viable on a large scale.

ARE COFFEE AND DONUTS NEXT? U.S. Safety Board Urges Cellphone Ban for Drivers.

Much more here.

HOLDER UNVEILS VOTER FRAUD PROGRAM: Let anyone vote (provided they're Democrats).

NEWT GINGRICH: Maybe, just maybe, the country class has found its champion.

THE LAST F-22 RAPTOR rolled off Lockheed Martin's assembly line in Marietta GA on Tuesday, Dec. 13. The only bright spot seems to be that the Air Force did decide to store the tooling in case production ever resumes. That's a welcome change from an earlier Air Force decision to destroy the tooling required to restart SR-71 production.

EVERYBODY'S POORER: Obama's wealth distribution plan is a stunning success.

LESSON NOT YET LEARNED: The state giveth, but so too the state will taketh away your freedom.

LESS: What America Really Wants From Obama and the Government.

The [Gallup] poll finds that 64 percent of adults believe government is the largest threat to the country, far more than those who fear business or organized labor. It’s not just Republicans (82 percent) and independents (64 percent) who feel that way. Now, 48 percent of Democrats also fear government most, up from 32 percent when Obama took office.

In other words, everyone not on welfare.

LET THE CAT FIGHT BEGIN. Robin Givhan is a 'former' Washington Post Style writer. Perhaps she's too outspoken for even the Post?

ATHENS, TEXAS braces for battle with atheists over nativity scene. Jefferson County commissioner Joe Hall Hall says the nativity scene will come down “after Christmas, or when hell freezes over.”

Good for them!

DENNIS CARDOZA (D-CA): Obama Would Rather be University Professor than President. Perhaps so, but deep down where he's shallow, I believe he'd rather be king.

JANE FONDA: ‘All the Rich People I Know’ Are Saying ‘Tax Us’. OK, fine. You know what the proposed tax rates are. Figure out what additional tax you would owe and send the Treasury a check. No one is stopping you.

THOMAS SOWELL: gridlock to Obama's rescue? I hope Americans are smarter than that, but the phrase 'fat chance' comes to mind.

CALLING OBAMA'S BLUFF: House passes payroll cut extension with Keystone pipeline provision. Now will the Senate protect Obama?

MARCO RUBIO: Forcing Washington to Live within Its Means.

I doubt it'll happen this year --or next -- but after the 2012 election it has to be a top priority of the next Republican administration.

"TAKING IT OUT" is not a firing offense. Maybe not, but it should be a shooting offense.

STAR PARKER: Land of the Free Envious and Home of the Brave Victim.

INCENTIVES MATTER: There is no free lunch in subsidy programs.

WELL, YES. Is a Car Salesman More Honest Than a Congressman? And we're probably giving car salesmen a bad rap.

WHY SMALL GOVERNMENT MATTERS:

Washington D.C. attracts a seemingly infinite number of special interests and advocacy groups lobbying for federal policies crafted to enrich them. Many of these groups have names that ring of high principle and social responsibility, regardless of the merit of their actual goals.

Read the whole thing.

OF COURSE: "In a re-elect, all you're really doing is trying to destroy the other guy."

MILLIONAIRES DON'T CREATE JOBS, unemployment checks do.

ANOTHER OBSERVATION from the retired lane: Why is it that the champions of progessivism are always the ones who will be least affected by the policies they champion?

DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: the gift (to Republicans) that keeps on giving.

FEAR OF BIG GOVERNMENT at near-record level. Well, Obama did say he would bring us together.

BUMPER STICKER of the year.


From my email.

FINALLY. Patience wanes with Occupy DC protest: "McPherson Square will be a toxic waste dump for the next couple of years."

THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA? NASA OKs launch of private space station trip.

MICHAEL BARONE: campaign risks. He's right on Obama, but on Gingrich I think Barone underestimates the electorate's disdain for the political establishment, Republican as well as Democrat.

EUROPEAN POLITICIANS are so incompetent they can’t figure out how to do the wrong thing. American politicians have figured out how to do the wrong thing; does that mean they're smarter or dumber than European politicians?

GINGRICH: Let's mine the moon. Maybe there is gold 'in them thar hills'.

WHO ARE THE ONE PERCENT? I'd suggest looking at the OWS slackers.

ANOTHER OBSERVATION from the retired lane: it is impossible to appreciate the efficiency of a cat to turn something valuable (food) into something less valuable (fertilizer) until you have to clean the litter box.

KRAUTHAMMER ON OBAMA: "He is more like Hugo Chávez than he is Teddy Roosevelt."

OBAMA: "I didn't overpromise." Really?

Here's the quote that bothers me most:

The problem is that our politics has gotten to the point, where we can’t have an honest conversation about the greatest income inequality since the 1920s. And we can’t have an honest conversation about the irresponsibility that resulted in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, without somebody saying that somehow we’re being divisive.

To Obama and his acolytes, an 'honest conversation' is one where all agree he's right.

DIM ENERGY FUTURE: The Coming American Darkness. You may have to register -- it's free.

TEA PARTY TO REPUBLICANS: this time you dance to our tune.

THE DISCOURAGING UNEMPLOYMENT PICTURE. But, but ... the unemployment rate dropped to 8.6% last month!

LIGHTSQUARED: If you're a farmer, your internet is more important than GPS guidance for your farm equipment.

SHOULD DEMOCRATS abandon the millionaire surtax? Right now, the vote is 9 to 1 in favor. Of course US News leans right, but I suspect that this also means that Republicans "punching back twice as hard" is beginning to work.

ARE CONSERVATIVES happier than liberals? Yes, but obviously they're too stupid to know they should be unhappy.

CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE: ‘Gays Have Got to Be Pro-Life‘ Because ’Liberal Yuppies‘ Would Abort ’Homosexual’ Babies.

HMM. Satellite images reveal secret Nevada UAV site.

ARE CONSERVATIVES happier than liberals? Obviously, because they're too stupid to know they should be unhappy.

CHRIS CHRISTIE explains the Occupiers.

YOU GO, GIRL: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley scolds the "good ol' boys."

ARROGANCE AND BULLYING at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They should file a 'hostile workplace' lawsuit.

EADS [European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company] joins the race to launch astronauts to the International Space Station.

ANN COULTER is not happy with Newt Gingrich.

EVERYONE LOVES LIGHT RAIL -- especially if they don't have to rely on it for actual transportation.

AUSTRALIA discovers poverty in West Virginia. Poverty is so much easier to see when it's not in your back yard.

BEWARE of burning wind turbines.

GOODBYE AMERICA: More Recollections of Deer Seasons Past. When I was in high school (early 60's), every pickup truck in the parking lot had a deer rifle on the gun rack in the back of the cab during deer season. No one paid any attention.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The President Who Never Was.

BLAGOJEVICH: I feel really, really bad; isn't that enough punishment? Nope.

WELL, IT'S BETTER THAN 'DANGEROUS': Now it's 'Obama the irrelevant'.

BELLADONA ROGERS: Advice to conservative women.

WHY WASHINGTON is shocked ... shocked! ... by Newt Gingrich's rise. Truer words have never been spoken. The beltway Republican establishment does not (yet) understand that real Republicans are as thoroughly pissed at them as they are Democrats.

CRYSTAL WRIGHT: Oh, What a Joke the DC Council Is. Your government at 'work'.

WHO CARES ABOUT FACTS when you're fighting to make America safe for cynicism?

ATF USED "FAST AND FURIOUS' to make the case for additional gun controls. Those innocents who died weren't 'collateral damage', they were marketing costs.

SHOCK (or at least a startle): Liberal recommends Kagan recuse herself from Supreme Court's ObamaCare case.

PELOSI: "Unemployment benefits should not be 'paid for'." So we'll use monopoly money instead?

AN OBSERVATION from the retired lane:

An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing.

A systems engineer is one who knows less and less about more and more until he knows nothing about everything.

Based on observing the Obama administration for three years, this conclusion is inescapable: a mediocre engineer is far more valuable to society than is an accomplished expert.

BUT OTHER THAN THAT ... Obama's Hypocritical, Incoherent, and Unpresidential Economic Speech.

YOU/VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! Unfortunately, no. Time Magazine names Occupy Wall Street the #1 news story of 2011.

EXCEPTIONAL AMERICA: Is the United States simply one nation among many — or is it the leader of the world?

This characteristic ability of the United States to respond to challenges, reinvent itself, and rebound is not to suggest that American preeminence is guaranteed in the coming decades. Rather, it means only that our destiny is in our own hands, should we have leadership that is intent on ensuring American predominance. The current rise of world hegemons like India and China recall similar warnings of a Nazi Germany in the 1930s, a postwar Soviet colossus of the 1950s and 1960s, a supposedly dominant Japan, Inc. during the 1970s, and a purportedly more moral and vibrant E.U. of the 1990s and 2000s. In every instance, the new ascendant rival eventually proved wanting in comparison to the United States. In other words, it is our decision whether China becomes our master or recedes, as did former twentieth-century competitors to the United States such as Germany, Russia, Japan, and the European Union.

In 2012, the public should ask the presidential candidates whether they believe America should accept a new role as merely one of many, or will they take the necessary steps to ensure our country’s traditional preeminence—as our perennially rebounding nation has done so often in the last seventy years.

It should -- and will again -- be leader of the free world.

SEVEN TIPS on how to ruin your life.

I KNOW NOTHING: "It’s easy [for the Obama administration] to remain scandal free if you just deny knowledge of everything your administration and fundraisers do. Doesn’t hurt to have the the liberal mainstream media watching your back, either."

OUTRAGE! (registration required; it's easy)

TANKING -- Obama's economy. The numbers in the PJ Tatler post seemed a bit off to me, as I've been tracking my retirement accounts for well over 10 years, using the DJIA index as my metric. So I checked myself, using as my metric as the percentage increase/decrease in the index from the first trading day of the year in question to the first trading day in the following year. Here are the results, compared to the Club for Growth study quoted in the PJ Tatler link:


My numbers, computed as the percentage change from the first trading day of the year in question to the first trading day of the following year, are clearly different from the Club for Growth numbers, but the conclusion remains the same: President Obama's third-year economy is clearly the worst since 1971.

BOSTON MAYOR TO OCCUPY CAMPERS: Take a hike.

THE PROBLEM “is not that we are overeducating ourselves ... it’s that we are spending a fortune to undereducate ourselves.”

IS RAINWATER an industrial pollutant? If so, will I need an EPA permit for the mulch bed I use to channel rainwater away from my basement door?

SO UNLESS YOU'RE ON WELFARE, you're among the 'privileged elite'.

BARBARA BOXER: Climate Deniers Endangering Humankind. Well, if by 'humankind' you mean Al Gore and his acolytes ....

NOW THAT TERRORISM is just 'workplace violence' I suppose that the OWS protests will now be redefined as 'uncivil disobedience'.

BIG SURPRISE: Alec Baldwin's kind of rude and self-centered (to put it politely). Be sure to watch the video for Greg Gutfields take.

SENSENBRENNER TO HOLDER: Your ass is toast.

WE'RE FROM THE GOVERNMENT, and we're here to help. Now you won't have to waste time finding all those tax loopholes the IRS would rather you not see.

AND THEY WONDER why we think they're overpaid?

AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) officials said they're looking to spend more on the 2012 elections than the $93 million spent in 2010, hinting that the figure would top $100 million. The early plans, according to those officials, are to capitalize on the politics of the moment -- centered on the issue of income inequality and propelled by important victories for union workers in Ohio and Wisconsin -- and undertake one of the more comprehensive field operations in election history.

Whose pocketbook did that $100 million come from?

NANCY PELOSI on the long fight to ensure social security and Medicare fail.

THE SMELL OF FAILURE: McPherson Square businesses getting fed up with Occupy D.C.

PRIORITY FAIL: U.S. to aid gay rights abroad. How about using "all the tools of American diplomacy" to promote the failure of Iran's nuclear weapons programs?

I prefer Zombie's "No-Holds-Barred International Gay Rights Strategy." It might actually accomplish something.

WHEN THEY DON'T LAND IN IRAN? When will we have unmanned commercial airliners?

DURBIN FEES: "A new law that was supposed to reduce costs for merchants that accept debit cards has instead [made] monthly processing bills much higher."

It's those pesky unintended consequences politicians don't much care about.

TEXAS APPROVES: New York raises taxes on the wealthy.
Watch the 'wealthy' leave for greener pastures.

FUHGEDDABOUDIT: Want a Payroll Tax Cut Extension? Want 10,000 Jobs?

NEW NANOTUBE COATING could cloak aircraft. And (bonus points for being 'green') provide additional carbon sequestration.

BARACK OBAMA: All hat; no cattle.

HOLIDAY TIP: cats are not Christmas decorations.

JUSTICE: Principal who suspended a nine-year-old for calling teacher 'cute' is forced to retire by school board.

SOME CHOICE: freedom to die or forced slavery. Fortunately there are other choices.

TIM TEBOW and the culture of pseudo political correctness. He's a quarterback. A very good one. He's a devout Christian. A very, very good one. Why does it matter? Unless the critics are fearful that the latter influences the former ....

A video is here.

And NRO's Daniel Foster has a theory: "His authenticity irks our secular, selfish culture."

INHOFE TO UN CLIMATE CONFERENCE IN DURBAN: Nobody's listening.

TIME MAGAZINE: "There is no effective GOP establishment left." That's a bad thing?

WHAT?? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Halts Over-the-Counter Morning-After Pill. I thought they were the pro-choice party.

NEWT GINGRICH:

We are going to have the candidate of food stamps, the finest food stamp president in American history in Barack Obama and we are going to have a candidate of paychecks.

Linked through Instapundit.

I'D VOTE FOR THIS: New Senior Care Assisted Living Plan.

So you're a sick senior citizen and the government says there is no nursing home available for you, what do you do?

Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets. You are allowed to shoot four Congressmen.

Of course, this means you will be sent to prison where you will get three meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating, air conditioning and all the health care you need! Need new teeth? No problem. Need glasses? That's great. Need a new hip, knees, kidney, lungs or heart? They're all covered. And, as an added bonus, your kids can come and visit you as often as they do now.

And who will be paying for all of this? It's the same government that just told you that they cannot afford for you to go into a nursing home.

Plus, because you are a prisoner, you don't have to pay any income taxes anymore.

Is this a great country or what?

My only questions are these: Do you get to choose your own congresscritters? Is there a waiting list?

SEATTLE DISCRIMINATES against plastic bags ... but not sweat pants, golf balls, or towels.

70TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEARL HARBOR Reminds Us Freedom Isn't Free.

MORE: 70 Years Ago Today.

FRANK & ERNEST: the future of ObamaCare.

GREAT NEWS! The unemployment rate has dropped 2-tenths of one percent under President Obama; at that rate the U.S. will reach full employment (defined as 5%) by the end of Obama's fourth term. The Washington Post's Richard Cohen is spinning so furiously that if the spin could be converted to electrical power Washington D.C. would have energy to export.

DOOMED TO FAIL: California Gov. Jerry Brown to take tax hike plan straight to voters.

BYRON YORK: Voters Like Newt, But Wait to See if He's Real.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: Barack Obama's America.

THEY HAD FAITH IN THE COUNTRY. We owe them the same.

IT'S ALL TOTUS'S FAULT: White House Concedes that Obama Lied About Billionaire Tax Rates.

FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY? What fiduciary responsibility? It's a sign of the vacuity in the progressive mind that they believe that corporations have a fiduciary responsibility, not to their owners, but to the government.

OBAMATEURISM of the Day: It's Al Gore's fault for inventing the intertubes.

Politicians and competence don't mix well.

"I’M NOT STUPID: If I lose money by hiring someone, I’m not going to do it.”

PEARL HARBOR: the 70th anniversary in Hawaii.

Video here (warning: annoying commercial first).

More here.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Every cloud has a silver lining.

OWS HAS CONVINCED ME "that their uncivilized behavior is a large part of what is holding the '99 percent' back."

MORE GREAT MOMENTS in Government-run healthcare.

"I'M BARACK OBAMA, and George Soros approved this message." Quote from the comments.

CHRIS CHRISTIE Addresses Columnists Who Say He’s Too Fat to Be President. He's being far too courteous by using the phrase "allegedly respectable."

TOO MUCH REGULATION is killing job creation, says … Obama donor and friend.

RHETORICAL QUESTION: Is Obama actually a great president, and we’re just a lousy country?

SIMPLY SHOCKING (NOT): Some of MF Global’s Missing Money Turns Up in Bill Clinton’s Bank Account.

WORD BANDITS and other conservatives.

NASA SPACECRAFT exploring solar system's edge. It's hard for me to believe that I once was a member of the Voyager communication system team. That was over 35 years ago.

JOHN HAWKINS: "There are few things worse than arrogant beggars."

THE WORLD WILL END, not with a bang, nor with a whimper, but with a giant sucking sound.

#OBAMAFAIL: Obama's New Nationalism.

Not a chance.

NANCY PELOSI threatens to bring a knife to a Gingrich gunfight. Good luck with that.

GOVERNMENT FAIL:

FAA Administrator Babbitt Placed On Leave After DUI.

Head Of DHS Drone Program Under Ethics Review.

Surprised?

RINGMASTER OF A THREE-RING CAT CIRCUS ... It's not quite 7:30 am and I've already opened/closed all three doors to the house to let the cats in and out.

BUSINESS INSIDER: "Obama is about to give a huge class warfare speech." It's all he has left.

#OCCUPYFAIL: Poster of the Day. Best comment: "Occupiers suffer from delusions of relevance."

DIET POLICE? A look at things to come.

END OF AN ERA: China's launch rate set to surpass United States.

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW: Drone journalism.

IF HE'S SO GOOD, why isn't he more popular? "[T]he perception among conservatives is that Huntsman just does not like them." Correct. He's smarmy.

UH, OH: Egypt Islamist parties win more than 60% of the vote.

MICHAEL BARONE on Newt Gingrich's candidacy. The fact that he's not well-liked by the Republican establishment is a feature, not a bug.

IF PAYING LAWMAKERS MORE is a prerequisite to getting them to work less, I'd pony up to the bar.

OCCUPY D.C. From the comments: "Our forefathers fought for independence from a king, these useful idiots are fighting to become dependent upon a king."

More here. The pictures certainly doesn't suggest a "makeshift structure."

THE REALITY OF REVOLUTION.

IF TRUE, not good news. The Pentagon has only confirmed the loss "over western Afghanistan" but the aircraft is clearly of a stealthy design. More on the RQ-170 Sentinel here.

UPDATE: It's true.

WHY NOT make colleges co-sign their students' loans?

MIKE ADAMS: Save the World on Your Own Dime.

GEORGE F. WILL: Choking on ObamaCare. Where are the tort lawyers when you need one?

DEREK HUNTER: "President Obama’s re-election campaign is in full swing. He’s flying to swing states ... to convince voters he deserves a second term based upon…I’m not exactly sure what."

DANIEL J. MITCHELL: Great Moments in Government Incompetence.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Why not pay higher taxes? "[This] is not a bold plea not to pay taxes, but a feeble rear-guard action to remind some why 50% of an income paid in assorted taxes is enough — and why more is not just unnecessary, but will more likely make things far worse. Had Obama been, even for a year, an electrical contractor or Starbucks manager rather than spent a lifetime in academia, community organizing, or comfortably employed by some sort of government, he would have had a different view of taxes and expenses. I might suggest from experience that I knew a lot of independent farmers who could have done graduate work at a Stanford or UC, but not too many Stanford PhDs who could have run and survived on a 400-acre operation of cotton, almonds, and citrus."

NO SURPRISE: Democrats can't do math.

QUESTIONS about the Cain allegations. This was written before the 'Cain Train' derailed, but the question I want answered remains unasked -- who induced these women to come forward, and what was the quid pro quo?

AWW: Some occupiers so traumatized they may need therapy. Poor babies ... where's my teeny-tiny violin?

IS ALL THIS class warfare rhetoric really necessary? It is if it's all you have left.

MY YEARLONG BATTLE WITH THE SUPERLOUSE. If there were something effective, we could try dusting the White House and Congress.

A NEW REALITY SHOW: Bankruptcy with the Stars.

CATVERTISING. Maybe mine can now start earning their keep.

THE KISS OF DEATH: Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski Endorses Mitt Romney.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Ancient Virtues and Modern Sins.

OBAMA: Congress shouldn't go home until payroll tax cut is extended; he'll sign the bill from his vacation 'cottage' on Kauai.

HERMAN CAIN bows out; other Republican candidates respond. Obama votes present.

WHY THE EDUCATION BUBBLE NEEDS TO COLLAPSE: Georgetown University Offers College Course On Jay-Z.

SENATE DEFIES WHITE HOUSE, votes for new Iran sanctions. Is sanity raising its ugly head?

THE 'OCCUPY' MOVEMENT (HEH!) DIED when Newt Gingrich told them to "take a bath and get a job."

RED STATE on the Republican candidates. Good summary.