NEWT GINGRICH:

Dear Friend,
How many times have you heard about the terrible, frightening, all-imposing "fiscal cliff" in the last few weeks?

Now we have a constant media drumbeat that Republicans will have to cave to President Obama's demands or they will bear responsibility for going over the fiscal cliff.

President Obama has increased his demands for more taxes and more spending.

The Left, both the politicians and the news media, have created a mythical threat which can only be solved by Republicans surrendering their principles and abandoning their allies.

Yet the fiscal cliff is entirely a manufactured threat.

The same people who are now negotiating worked two years ago to create the mess which they say is such a threat.

At any point they wanted to, the President and the Congress could reduce the "cliff" to a series of foothills by breaking the problem into ten or twenty component parts.

They could then focus on solving each problem on its own merits and out in the open with public hearings, public understanding and public involvement.

Public understanding, however, would limit the level of waste, favoritism, and special interests which could be funded.

That is exactly the opposite of what the Washington establishment wants.

To get a unique insight into the current psychological process of chanting "fiscal cliff," it is worth reading Tom Wolfe's essay, "Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers" (1970).

Wolfe describes a San Francisco welfare office in which the senior management hides away on the second floor and hires young, underpaid people to catch the flak of the welfare recipients who show up angry and unhappy. It is the job of the junior staff to endure the hostility while protecting the calm and isolation of the senior leaders.

The local Samoan community had figured out the game and decided to change it. As Wolfe vividly describes, they would send very large Samoans with war clubs into the office. The flak catcher would start explaining why they couldn't see the senior decision makers on the second floor. The Samoans would begin chanting and pounding their clubs on the floor. After a couple minutes of threatening noises, the young welfare worker would decide they weren't getting paid enough to endure the tension and the sense of threat. They would let the Samoans go upstairs to make their demands to the senior welfare officials.

This brief description does not do justice to the beautiful writing and keen insights Wolfe brings to this scene.

But hopefully it does paint a picture of what we are living through.

The political and news media Left have fashioned an artificial club called "the fiscal cliff".

They are now standing on national television pounding their club and describing more and more horrifying outcomes if Republicans refuse to surrender their principles and appease the fiscal cliff Gods as defined by the Left.

Their goal is to panic the country so the people will then apply pressure to panic the Republicans.

Every time you hear “fiscal cliff” just remember it is an artificial invention of the Left.

Every time you hear a dire warning about the coming crisis remember the Samoans pounding their war clubs and chanting.

House Republicans should start legislating solutions they believe in, allow President Obama’s alternatives the honest chance to win a floor vote, and move forward.

The current negotiations are phony, dishonest, and calculated to produce either a failure to be blamed on the Republicans or a success defined by the collapse of the Republican policy positions.

Republicans would be far better off to refocus their energy on legislation, appropriation, oversight, and communication -- and relegate negotiation to being fifth on their priority list.

From my email.

ADDED: Here's the video.

HOW TO ENSURE CONGRESS PASSES A BUDGET: Amend the Budget Act to eliminate Congressional pay whenever there is no budget.

A COALITION OF 125 CELEBRITY MUSICIANS ... have joined forces with anti-tax advocates ... to oppose an intellectual property "reform" bill that critics charge expands government to the detriment of the free market.

Hey, aren't these the same people who have demanded that 'the rich' be taxed more?

TAXPAYERS, revolt! Go Galt. Or be like me, go on welfare (social security plus government retirement).

Why pay taxes when you can live off other people's money.

BUILD IT and they will come. Not so much any more.

DAMNED IF YOU DO, damned if you don't. Really, the solution is quite simple -- just charge the EU-originating airlines a similar 'carbon tax' for flying into/over U.S. territory.

See how long it takes before they back down.

TEXAS races to the top in education. I can verify both 'ends' of this article. My son graduated high school in Texas. My daughter finished 8th grade before we had the misfortune to have to move to California; when she started 9th grade in California - in arguably the best school in the district - she was a solid two years ahead of her peers. Which is why I didn't let her go to college in California.

YES, CERTAINLY, LET'S TAX THE RICH. Two-Thirds of Millionaires Left Britain to Avoid 50% Tax Rate.

FORWARD! to 200 square foot homes.

FEMALE STORE CLERK gets in gun fight with 3 armed robbers and wins.

One of the would be robbers was shot in the chest, caught by police and is being treated at an area hospital. The other two suspects escaped, but police believe one of them may have also been shot.

EVEN OBAMA SUPPORTERS minimize their taxes.

WHEN WORK IS PUNISHED: The Tragedy Of America's Welfare State.

[T]he single mom is better off earnings gross income of $29,000 with $57,327 in net income & benefits than to earn gross income of $69,000 with net income and benefits of $57,045.

Read the whole thing.

‘MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX!’: How social conservatives can win by losing. Simon's right. The social conservatives have already won the abortion battle (thanks to technology) and should -- if they're smart -- turn their efforts to promoting adoption. As for gay rights, let anyone register a 'civil union' with the government to ensure property rights (which, when you think of it, is the original purpose of marriage) and let 'marriage' be the domain of the churches.

FREEDOM LEADS TO PROSPERITY; 'free stuff' leads to slavery.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: theraputic wars. Until one side gets tired of 'therapy'.

FORCE THE DEMOCRATS to own the economy -- then let it crash. I hate to put it that way, since a crashing economy will hurt me too, but it seems to be the only way to force the Democrats to take responsibility for their own failures.

CALIFORNIA UNDERPERFORMS. New York Times spins.

PAYING YOU not to work will create 300,000 new jobs. Huh?

FROM MY EMAIL: Hostess Bakery plants shut down due to a workers' strike. In the ensuing government takeover, the State Department hired all the Twinkies, the Secret Service hired all the HoHos, the generals are sleeping with the Cupcakes, and the voters sent all the Ding Dongs to Congress.

My correspondent comments: "There were plenty of Ding Dongs already in Congress; not sure why they needed more!"

THE TYRANNY OF GOOD INTENTIONS AT U.S. COLLEGES. "[P]erhaps people are waking up to the rottenness beneath the universities' gleaming veneer."

AVOID THE FISCAL CLIFF: increase taxes, increase spending. The Democrats' universal answer to every problem.

A LITTLE LATE, DON'T YOU THINK? Majority Now Against Government Healthcare Guarantee.

Nancy Pelosi was right: "You have to read it to find out what's in it."

AN OVERDUE BOOK: Who's The Fairest of Them All?

HEALTH WARNING: Your computer may kill you.

Use of a keyboard of mouse may be linked to serious injuries or disorders. Some guidelines that may help you work more comfortably with your computer can be found in the “Healthy Computing Guide” installed with this device’s software. If this device did not come with software, see the “Healthy Computing Guide" section of the “Getting Started” manual.

Found on the back of my keyboard.

PARTING COMPANY: Walter E. Williams writes on the secession movement.

NEW EDUCATION PEDAGOGY: Student-to-Student Massages Will Cure Bullying.

THE 'TAX ME, I'M RICH' Warren Buffett avoids paying taxes.

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY lawyer predicts Obamacare back at SCOTUS next fall. But will they get it right?

AFTER VICTORY, liberals want income redistribution. How does that go again? Oh, yes, I remember: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need...."

MORE, PLEASE: Students Pull Off Thanksgiving Event, Despite Being Stood up by Protesting Teachers. Clearly the teachers aren't as important as their egos suggest.

"THE NEXT TIME Obama suggests it’s 'fair' to go back to Clinton era tax rates, the GOP should say it’s only 'fair' to go back to Clinton era spending, regulations, and welfare reform. Let’s agree to roll back all spending, entitlement increases, government programs, and regulations enacted since Clinton."

THE FEMINISTS' war on men. If she wants to go from a 30-ish feminist to a 50-ish old maid and remove herself from the gene pool, that's fine with me. But don't expect men to take the blame for her failures.

GUN SALES rise after Obama’s re-election. And I'll be looking to add to my collection early next year.

A PLAN TO DODGE THE ‘FISCAL CLIFF’. It's nice and fluffy, and there are some revenue (read tax) ideas I could support, but the first two comments get to the heart of the matter: where are the words 'spending cuts'?

THE FISCAL CLIFF: Obama's base doesn't want a deal. Of course not. When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose.

MARS COLONY eyed by Space-X founder Elon Musk. I'd go if I were younger -- and had a half-million dollars to spend.

WANT TO BE A CYBER-SPY? Go to the University of Tulsa.

WHY OBAMACARE mandates free birth control.

FOX NEWS: The Senate mulls adding new protections for digital communications (i.e., email). Frankly, I'd prefer new protections for my income.

BRUCE BIALOSKY: Selective Thoughts.

I find it interesting that he chose to have his son attend college in Kansas. Five years earlier, I had made the same decision not to allow my daughter to attend a California institution of higher lower education. She went to the University of Nebraska instead.

WE'RE RUNNING OUT of income to tax, so how about a 'wealth' tax?

'Social justice' demands that everyone be poor....

VIRGINIA GUN SALES UP; crime is down. But never mind that; it's because Obama started running for President in 2006.

Only the media is baffled by the notion that more guns lead to less crime (linked from Instapundit).

OBAMACARE:

From my email. My source sends this as well: "Owners of 2 shops here in California that I rent consignment space from say this will probably do them in too as they are barely able to squeak by as it is. Expect many more will follow."

HELP WANTED: World War II Code Crackers.

JEFF JACOBY: "Overregulation is no substitute for choice and competition. Not even when it comes to health." Regulators (I mean you, Mr. Krugman) fear an informed consumer.

LET'S REIN IN THE FOOD POLICE and get real about nutrition information.

Never mind the economic argument, important though it is, and ask the obvious question: how many real people (that is, those who live outside the fevered imaginations of the food police) ever pay any attention to the calorie information on the menus and menu boards? I eat out fairly often, and I've never seen anyone do more than glance at it.

IF I CAN'T HAVE A 'HOLIDAY TREE' there will be no tree. Bravo to Rhode Island State Rip. Doreen Costa -- it is well past the time that these political correctocrats be told to sit down, shut up, and pound sand.

UM, SO WHERE DID THE DNA COME FROM? 'Bigfoot' is part human, DNA study claims.

HEH: the wages of ObamaCare. Use the 'Previous' button to scroll back for more.

MSNBC just can't let go of the race card deck. It's little wonder that no rational American will watch that channel.

But the Washington Post obviously does....

WORLD'S OLDEST digital computer restarted.

Only 61 years ago. Today that much computing power could be put on the point of a needle without disturbing the dancing angels.

ANNIE SHOOT YOUR GUN:

My granddaughter at the shooting range over Thanksgiving. As I recall, it was 18 of 20 shots on the target at 7 yards. She was so excited to be shooting that as soon as a magazine was emptied, she'd do her own reloading rather than wait for me.

STARVE 'HEALTHILY': NYC sends health teams to post-Sandy food handouts.

LEFTY PLAYBOOK: WalMart doesn't play their employees enough. Neither does Papa John's.

Note the common theme: social justice is more important than mere jobs.

THOMAS SOWELL: Hotels and Hassles. It's not just hotels; it's cars, computers, software, cell phones, ad infinitum. Almost every time I buy something new, be it a car, a computer, a cell phone, or a service, I have to either accept a feature I don't want or spend an inordinate amount of time disrupting the defaults to get back to the functionality I do want.

JONAH GOLDBERG: "Maybe Obama can go to black America for something more than votes every four years."

Unlikely; all Obama wants is votes.

PASSIVE RESISTANCE: How states can disarm ObamaCare.

STILL CLINGING TO GUNS AND RELIGION: Concealed Carry Training Offered by ... Churches?

AT LEAST ONE CARTOONIST GETS IT.

I posted here.

OH, YES, ObamaCare will bend the cost curve ... up. Here's how.

FAILURE: Unions in America today. Hunter pulls no punches.

ONLINE SHOPPING is bad for the environment.

IF AT FIRST you don't succeed, then ask for demand things to be given to you.

THE OLDEST BOEING AIRLINER IN FLYING CONDITION: The four passengers are in two closed cabins, and the lone pilot is in an open cockpit -- maybe so the air will make him stay awake!

The airplane is in Spokane, WA and is the oldest airworthy Boeing in the World.

After eight years of repair and rebuilding and 8,000 hours of toil the Boeing 40C rolled out last winter as a finished airplane. They had to wait a few weeks for the snow to melt to fly this baby. They received their Standard Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA and completed the engine pre-oil and fuel flow tests for the first of the taxi tests.

Facts for the Boeing 40 project:

The airplane weighs 4,080 lbs empty and has a gross weight of 6,075 lbs.

It is 34 feet long and 13 feet tall with a wingspan of over 44 feet.

Wing loading is 10 lbs per sq ft and power loading is 10 lbs per HP.

The wings have 33,000 individual parts in them.

It should cruise at 115 mph using 28 GPH and 32 GPH at 120 mph.

It carries 120 gallons of fuel in three tanks.

Over 221 gallons of dope/reducer and 120 yards of 102 ceconite fabric; twelve gallons of polyurethane paint for the sheet metal; and three-hundred-and-fifty 2" brushes were used to apply six gallons of West Systems epoxy.

One-hundred-eighty-one rolls of paper towels were needed for cleanup.

There were a total of 62 volunteers who worked on the project to some degree. Twenty-one of the volunteers did a significant amount of the work and nine of the volunteers worked continuously during the eight-year project.

From my email.

OH, NO! He took my job.

BY ALL MEANS, let's tax Matt Damon.

NEW YORK GETS $27 million in federal funds to hire 5,000 Sandy cleanup workers. But they won't let homeowners back in their own homes to protect them from looting.

IS YOUR STATE in a death spiral?

CONGRESS? We don't need no stinkin' Congress. The New Republic suggests ways Obama can go around Congress to implement his 'progressive' agenda.

And we worry Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi is trying to become a dictator?

IF PROGRESSIVES ATE TWINKIES, there would be a government bailout.

HEH. John Boehner: to curtail spending, let's put ObamaCare on the table.

ROOFTOP SOLAR STOOD UP TO HURRICANE SANDY: Big solar installers report almost no damage, even in hardest hit areas.

BILL WHITTLE SPEAKS:



This is what a real Republican sounds like. For more Whittle, go here.

WASHINGTON EXAMINER: You can balance the budget without raising taxes.

But not with progressives in charge. Here's an example from another post:

If I need my car fixed, the mechanic takes a look and then tells my insurer how much it will cost to repair it. If I need a broken hip fixed, though, the hospital doesn’t tell my insurer how much it will cost. Instead, various parties to the transaction—the internist, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, the hospital itself—set their own independent meters running. The result is a much higher bill. It’s widely agreed that a preferable solution is to “bundle” payment—that is, pay the hospital one prearranged fixed amount for the whole procedure.

Notice the fundamental assumption of the progressive mind? It doesn't matter whether your car breaks down or your body breaks down, somebody else will pay for it.

URGENTLY NEEDED: a dumber, tougher power grid. Smart isn't always the answer.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: give Obama everything he wants -- in spades.

JOHN RANSOM: Idiots all.

RCA? WHAT'S AN RCA? HOW RCA lost the liquid crystal display (LCD) and eventually went out of business.

DON'T GET MAD, get even. I particularly like the idea of unbundling cable service so I can listen to Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow squeal (on Fox, of course).

OBAMACARE: the new reality of medical care control:

Do you want your “free” yearly exam...?,You can have my “free” exam if you only discuss what Obamacare wants me to discuss.... [D]octors will be obligated — that’s right, obligated — to talk to you about things you may have no interest or need to talk about.

I am now mandated by the government to talk to you about your weight, exercise, family life, smoking, sexual abuse(!), and even to ask if you wear seat belts. And I am mandated to record your answers.

Read it all. Then pay cash.

AND THESE MAROONS have the temerity to identify themselves as 'freethinkers'? What's next -- demanding that we stop going to church for fear that they'll be identified as 'non-Christian'?

ENTITLEMENT REFORM by default. One way or another, it'll happen.

NO POWER? No problem, and here's your bill for what you would have used had you had power.

SOMEHOW, I lack sympathy.

TAR AND FEATHERS UPDATE.

PRIORITIES: Thanksgiving interferes with Black Friday. It was inevitable, I guess.

THANKSGIVING 2013 ... and 2014 ... and 2015 ... and....

THE WAY THINGS ARE PROGRESSING, in 20 years “only the rich can afford electricity” will be a common utterance and an established fact.

NASA OUTPOST beyond moon could lead to Mars. The 'end-game' has to be colonization, not just of Mars, but of space itself.

NEW [OBAMACARE] REGULATIONS set price controls on how much insurers are allowed to charge different patients for insurance and how much consumers will be allowed to pay for their own health care out of pocket. Makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over, doesn't it?

I've tried to find specifics on the mandate's 'minimum essential benefits' but -- strangely enough -- the mainstream media seems to be reluctant to report them.

BUT BIGGER IS SUPPOSED TO BE BETTER: Obamacare helps big hospitals, kills small practices, drives up costs.

OBAMA VOTERS only like the idea of fixing entitlements … but not actually fixing them.

FOR REAL FAIRNESS, end the deduction for state and local taxes.

Give the Obama voters what they asked for ... It'll also affect the blue (high tax) states much more than the red ones.

BOEING NEARS ENGINEER STRIKE VOTE as union balks at terms. In other words, I want mine, and to hell with the rest of you.

FREEDOM FROM RELIGION FOUNDATION: keep religion behind closed doors where it belongs.

I find it mildly amusing that the FFRF would use the word 'hallelujah' in their post denouncing religion, as well as use the phrase 'winter solstice' for Christmas, which is widely - if incorrectly - regarded as a religious holiday.

Why don't they just go to work December 25th and just ignore Christmas ... er, excuse me, 'winter solstice'?

AMERICA'S NEW IMMIGRATION POLICY: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to cash welfare checks."

A BIT LATE, but Happy Thanksgiving!

NEVER LET A CRISIS GO TO WASTE: Irish Mother’s Death Tragic — Just Like Using it to Promote Abortion on Demand.

JOHN STOSSEL: "The 'fiscal cliff' frightens me less than the bankruptcy cliff."

“F*CK YOU, JEW”: Brutal attack by Palestinian protester at SF anti-Israel protest. From the 'religion of peace'.

THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S Inspector General released a study that found air traffic control towers "staffed by private contractors are cheaper and provide the same level of safety as towers staffed by government controllers."

CALIFORNIA, Home of the Destitute. A friend of mine, a former Californian, emailed me just this morning to say that the non-destitute are moving to Nevada.

PETA asks Obama to put a stop to the annual turkey pardoning.... I agree; turkeys should be eaten.

ONLY LITTLE MIKEY and his minions can have guns -- even after looting breaks out.

COUNTDOWN TO DOOMSDAY: "Mankind has long been fascinated with doomsday and hundreds of thousands of predictions have been made about the end of our world. While most of these are associated with the second coming of Christ, the focus is now on the Maya civilization of Southern Mexico and the end of their calendar on December 21, 2012 -- the coming Winter Solstice.... The scenarios are truly frightening: The Earth will be destroyed by colliding with an asteroid or being pulled into the black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Others claim a galactic planetary alignment that will tear the Earth apart or the Earth's magnetic poles will shift and our planet will turn upside down."

The Mayans were off by just a bit. Doomsday was early; November 6th instead of December 21st.

THANKSGIVING: "America was founded by socialists who had the humility to learn from their initial mistakes and embrace freedom.”

PAUL GREENBERG on a on a date to remember this Thanksgiving.

“THE PRESIDENT keeps reminding us he just won an election. [So it’s] time for the president to start talking about what he has to offer and put something on the table.”

MICHELLE MALKIN: Giving Thanks for America's Givers. Now if only the government would get out of the way....

TAX POLICY: the Instapundit gambit.

WE'LL SURVIVE; just make the spending cuts. And probably be better off for it.

CONCEALED CARRY WAR; woman wins.

FORWARD! -- to Revenge! Mandate? I don't need no stinkin' mandate.

GREENFAIL: Incandescent light bulbs now thought to be superior to CFLs.

THOMAS SOWELL: Killing the goose. Still wonder why government unions are growing even as private unions are declining?

THE HORRORS OF FEMA DISASTER 'RELIEF'; the glory of private efforts. And now I just caught a story on television tonight that the government is considering delaying reconstruction for 6 months or more (so that the lucky residents can continue to enjoy the benefits of FEMA camps).

DENNIS PRAGER: How the New York Times Covers Evil. It covers evil?

ISN'T IT OBVIOUS who the racists are?

You know, everywhere I go in town -- Old Manassas, grocery store, department store, WalMart, Home Depot, restaurants -- I see 20, 30, even 40 percent biracial/multiracial families. Where's the racism?

Answer: MSNBC....

GOODBYE, MAINSTREAM MEDIA:

EXPLORATION ALTERNATIVES: From Propellant Depots to Commercial Lunar Base. It looks good on the surface, but is doomed to fail without two very important requirements. The first is a 'grand goal' -- permanent colonization (and note I don't specify colonization of what). The second is buy-in from commercial space.

Without both, the 'exploration highway' will fail.

NEWSPAPERS WILL NEVER DIE: You Can't Wrap a Fish with an IPhone.

EARLY ADOPTERS, you may have just gotten shafted again.

Utter bull(you finish the word)! That happens every single time a new technology is adopted. If they were smart (silly me!), the environmentalists and greenies would be thrilled, since it indicates that the all-electric car may be close to becoming as economically viable as it would have been 10 years ago in the absence of government regulation and subsidization.

NASA’S MINI X-PLANE marks another flight milestone.

It's a pity that Boeing is unlikely to build a larger piloted model in the near future.

NOT THAT THEY WOULD ENTER, but it's the thought that counts.

MORE PROOF (if any is needed) that the Democrats' relationship with reality in tenuous at best.

MORE RECENT EVENTS suggest Obama isn't going to get his way.

WOULD HE CONSIDER a guaranteed government prison?

NEVER LET A CRISIS GO TO WASTE: even when it's demonstrably irrelevant to the matter at hand.

TECH TALK: Network damage after hurricane Sandy.

One solution may be to encourage power companies to deploy standards that allow cell sites, homes and other independent structures to safely disconnect from the grid and still use local sources of energy, such as microgrids, solar panels, or wind turbines.

Bingo! The obvious solutions slaps liberals in the face. They might also consider hardening infrastructure, and siting power stations where power is consumed instead of in someone else's back yard.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Coincidentally, ....

PAUL GREENBERG: Learn Spanish. Look, I'm all for legal immigration, and I'll accept some form of regularization for those already here -- but not before I see demonstrable progress in controlling U.S. borders, including airports, seaports, and coastlines.

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT gives up on 'filtering' [i.e. regulating] the internet.

Too bad the rest of the world isn't that smart....

REPUBLICANS’ NEWEST PITCH ON TAXES — and why Obama can’t accept it. One thing to remember that in liberal-ese 'tax expenditure' is 'tax cut' in ordinary English.

I could accept a small tax increase, with conditions. The most important of which is that it be coupled with a complete overhaul of the tax code to remove all exemptions, deductions, and loopholes.

NASA: Is it time for a warp drive?

MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR ‘reassigns’ state highway [un]safety director.

GQ TO MARCO RUBIO: How old is Earth? I liked Instapundit's response: “I’m not sure, but I think Helen Thomas was there when it started.” But I have a better one. A variant on Gen. Honore's remark: "Are you still stuck on stupid?"

THE REALITY OF WEATHER FORECASTING:

It's late Fall, and the Indians on a remote reservation in Oklahoma asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.

Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.

But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea.

He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma and asked,'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'

'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'

'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.'

The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.

Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'

'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.

The weatherman replied, 'The Indians in Oklahoma are collecting lots of firewood.'

From my email.

BUY AMERICAN: shop at 7-11. At least there, the American dream is still alive.

MY CONFESSION: The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat...

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school... The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about.. And we said okay..

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

TELLING IT LIKE IT IS: A Brit on the MidEast and OBL.

WORDS FAIL. Since when do you consult the foxes about how to guard the henhouse?

NEWT GINGRICH ON ISRAEL (11/16/2012):

The escalating violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is providing a perfect example of the false moral equivalence that profoundly threatens the state of Israel.

For more than a decade, millions of Israelis have lived under the constant threat of rocket attacks. Thousands of rockets have rained down on towns of peaceful citizens. In one day at the end of October, militants in the Gaza strip fired more than 65 rockets into Israeli civilian populations.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military took action to dismantle this threat. It did what the American military does routinely: assassinated a terrorist with a drone strike. The man, Ahmed Jabari, was a senior member of the military wing of Hamas, the terrorist group risen to government power in Gaza. He was responsible for numerous numerous acts of violence against Israelis.

Militants in Gaza responded with a barrage of hundreds of rockets on Israeli civilians, killing at least three and injuring several others.

Israel then launched a mission to destroy dozens of launch sites that it had identified in the Gaza strip. Satellite imagery released by the military shows that often militants had attempted to shield these sites by placing them next to civilian locations suchs as apartment buildings, mosques, and markets.

Today, forces in Gaza launched a long range rocket (possibly supplied by the Iranians) capable of hitting Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. It hit a settlement just south of Jerusalem, Gush Etzion. Yesterday another rocket reached the Tel Aviv area for the first time since 1991.

And what is the response of the UN Secretary General to Israel’s self-defense in the face of a decade of rocket attacks, a million people driven into shelter this week by the barrage, and long range missile strikes close to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv?

“Israel must exercise maximum restraint.” That is what his spokesman told reporters today.

The Secretary General “urgently appeals to all concerned to do everything under their command to stop this dangerous escalation and restore calm. Rocket attacks are unacceptable and must stop at once. Israel must exercise maximum restraint.”

The dishonesty of this moral equivalency is stunning. Militants and terrorists launch thousands of rockets into Israel, killing or injuring dozens of its citizens. Israel, a sovereign country with an obligation to defend and protect its people, acts to destroy these launch sites, which the militants hid intentionally among civilians, and the UN responds as though Israel is guilty of reckless violence.

How can there be a peace process under a discourse that affords a terrorist group diplomatic status and calls for “restraint” in the self-defense of a sovereign country? The United States should formally protest the UN's one-sided statement.

No. The U.S. should withdraw from the United Nations, withdraw all financial support, convert the UN building to low-income housing, revoke diplomatic immunity for all UN diplomats, kick them out of the U.S. and recommend that they move their headquarters to Gaza where they'll be better able to 'protect' the Palestinians.

MAYBE WE SHOULD LET IT BURN.

DON’T WORRY, be happy. With the money saved, you’ll be getting free birth control.

THE COST free-market medicine.

“THE WHITER THE PLACE, THE WORSE OBAMA DID” — and the more the economy has recovered.

CONGRATULATIONS, Obama voters. Now go get in the unemployment line.

28 OCTOBER 2012: Israeli jets bomb Sudan missile site in dry run for Iran attack [subscription]. Question: why was this news conspicuously absent from the U.S. mainstream media?

DON'T WORRY: We know what's best for your children.

RANDOM THOUGHTS from the retirement lane: if redistribution is good for America, shouldn't burglary be legal?

WALTER E. WILLIAMS on the 'economic benefits' of disasters. It's a question that can never be empirically answered, but I tend to side with Dr. Williams in that I don't generally see destruction of accumulated wealth as a good thing.

THOMAS SOWELL: Is Demography Destiny?

A GREAT IDEA FOR OBAMACARE: Pass the costs on to customers in the most visible way possible.

NOT TOP DOWN: How disaster relief really works. And the sooner it's done (i.e., without government interference), the better it works.

Linked from Instapundit.

THE FEDERAL WELFARE EXPLOSION: "They’ll turn us all into beggars ’cause they’re easier to please."

OBAMA MATH: $70,000,000,000 = $1,250,000,000,000. Close enough for government work.

A SMALL MAN in a small administration.

JOHN RANSOM: Let's have a global minimum tax. Not.

LEAF FALL 2012: Third in a series.

Picture taken Nov. 10th. Previous picture is here.

OHIO, YOU ALREADY VOTED -- I don't need you any more. What's particularly amusing about this post is that it appeared on Fox News' Special Report as part of the Political Grapevine. Bret Baier quoted a blogger using Instapundit's favorite line, "They told me if I voted Republican ...."

GLOBAL WARMING causes man-made space junk to accumulate faster. So if you're not hit by a piece of space debris, you can thank climate change.

HOUSE PUSHES AHEAD with aviation carbon tax vote.

DENNIS PRAGER: Maybe Minorities' Values Need Changing.

LET'S JUMP OFF THE CLIFF. Better now than later.

IF YOU TRACK ME, will we still trust each other?

THOMAS SOWELL: It's time to become sore losers.

MORNING EXAMINER: The Grand Swindle.

MICHELLE WILL APPROVE: Unions drive America dangerously close to the Twinkie cliff.

I ALWAYS THOUGHT she was stupid; now there's proof.

HEH: White House website deluged with secession petitions from over 20 states. Texas, Louisiana, and at least one other state have collected enough signatures that the Obama administration 'promised' to respond.

TEACHERS FLOCK to Northwestern University for 'Marxist Conference', underscoring the need for more vouchers and less unions.

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN': "Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday said California would start a tax-increase wave across the nation, but recent history suggests California's tax increases will only accelerate the number of people who will leave California to other states with better tax climates."

Um, Jerry, please explain to me why Texas (for example) would want -- or need -- to raise taxes with all those dollars they 'extracted' from California? Hell, maybe Texas will lower tax rates to encourage more Californians to come....

I GOT YOUR VOTE NOV. 6; I don't need you any more. Get under the bus with everyone else.

OBAMA: hoist with his own petard?

A HANDY GUIDE: Who's doing who in the Obama team's sex scandals. It should probably be updated hourly.

Linked from Instapundit.

TOO MUCH TECHNOLOGY: New Apple flagship in California has a noise problem.

HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY TEAMS told to dump National Anthem.

Nearly 200 high school hockey teams in Pennsylvania have been advised to eliminate the national anthem because it takes too much time to perform and costs too much money.

Schools were notified of the directive in an email from the PIHL. He said teams are only allotted a certain amount of time to play matches.... [I]ce time is quite expensive and the national anthem eats into the clock.

Get real. How much does it cost to rent/buy a PA system and a CD?

SIMON SAYS:

The election is over, the talking is done.
My party lost, your party won.
So let us be friends, let arguments pass.
I’ll hug my elephant, you kiss your ass.

CANNIBALS:

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Airlines Face Acute Shortage Of Pilots. Don't worry, there will always be bullet trains.

REDISTRIBUTION: Foodstamps Surge By Most In One Year To New All Time Record.

SIMON JESTER returns.

CONN CARROLL: Amnesty would only make it worse.

Conservatives will never win over Latinos, or any other demographic (Romney lost Asians by an even larger, 47-point margin) by treating them as a distinct special interest group to be pandered to. That is how liberals keep their political coalition together -- and we know how that turns out. Just looked at Democratic-owned and ever-bankrupt state of California.

Read it all.

MORE here. Like many -- if not most -- Americans, I have no problem with some form of amnesty for illegals of all ethnicities who have been living here, but only after our borders have been proven closed.

RE-ELECTED, Obama takes aim at religious liberty. Except for secularism, which will remain 'protected'.

HOORAY FOR THE ARAB SPRING: Israel Fires Warning Shot Into Syria.

JESSE JACKSON, JR. plea deal to include resigning from Congress. Personally, I'd be inclined to require him to stay in Congress, under the theory that there would be less damage to America than would be the case if Chicago were to be allowed to vote for appoint another machine corruptocrat to Congress.

DAVID AND BATHSHEBA: there's something surreal -- almost Alice-in-Wonderlandish -- about the whole Benghazi affair. More and more I'm being convinced that the Obama administration is the most corrupt ever and that Gen. Petraeus was intentionally set up to be the 'fall guy' for Benghazi.

Read the comments.

[ADDED] Another Mystery Victim in the Benghazi Triangle.

YES, let's raise taxes on the rich. Let's raise them so high that George Soros and his kind go bankrupt.

TO OUR VETERANS -- Thank you for your service.

HOPE and Change Greece, Illinois, and California.

PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE: Don't wait for the education bubble to burst; detonate it first.

JEFF JACOBY: What it takes is clarity and conviction.

ON THE LEFT it's not 'special interest' money; it's 'public interest' money.

FROM MY EMAIL: Analyzing Sandra Fluke's birth control expenses.

Many of you have likely seen the heart rending testimony of Ms. Sandra Fluke, a law student at Georgetown University, before a Congressional Committee. She was lamenting that no one would subsidize her birth control expenses, which she claimed would amount to $3000 during her three years in law school. After watching Ms. Fluke describe her desperate situation I set to thinking of ways to help her out of her crisis.

First, of course I had to pass through the grieving period I experienced after hearing of her inhumane treatment at the hands of the Georgetown administration and our Government – what cruelty lurks in the heart of men that they would leave this poor woman to fend for herself when all she wanted to do was get laid seven times a day (see my analysis below).

Once I recovered from my grief, I set to thinking about ways to help this poor girl. Being a Physicist, I sat down with my calculator and worked through some numbers. Ms. Fluke’s expense account for birth control (aka sexual entertainment) was claimed to be $3000 for three years at law school. Let’s presume that as an educated woman she wants to be doubly safe and uses both birth control pills to prevent pregnancy and condoms to prevent STD (sexually transmitted disease).

Using the Wal-Mart cost for birth control pills of $9 per month, her birth control pills will cost her $324 for her entire law school career. This leaves only $2676 for her condoms.

I went to Amazon.com, and found quality condoms available for 33 cents each in packages of 60 condoms each. This cost includes tax and shipping. Since she has $2676 for her 33 cent condoms, she will be buying 8109 condoms during her law school “career”.

To use her 8109 condoms (remember, $3000 was Ms. Flukes’ own number) she would have to have sex 7 times a day. This number presumes that she also has sex ten times a day on Sundays when she has more free time.

So, having worked through these numbers, I have some suggestions for Ms. Fluke to help her work through her crisis:

1. Find dates who are gentlemanly enough to either provide their own condoms, or at least split the cost with her. Selection criteria is the key to this one.

2. Spend more time studying. Even seven “quickies” a day will seriously cut into quality study time. This would not only save money but would improve her education as well.

3. Seek funding from the EPA from one of their Wetlands Protection programs – surely Ms. Flukes’ nether regions would qualify as wetlands given sex seven times a day.

Just trying to help out a starving student. (By the way, the average starting salary of new Georgetown Law School graduates is $160,000 a year.)

Footnote: If you missed the Democrat Convention, Sandra Fluke is one of the rising stars in the cadre of Democrat women who clearly believe that this issue is more important than the economy, jobs, government spending, $16 Trillion of national debt, America’s diminished role in the world, et cetera. Otherwise, why would they make her monologue a centerpiece of their convention?

VETERANS DAY: Mojave Cross rededicated to WWI veterans.

HOW TO GET TO THE MOON AGAIN: just climb the debt ceiling mountain.

IT'S YOUR MORTGAGE. Don't ask me to pay for it.

THE REGULATIONS ARE COMING, the regulations are coming.

GET RID OF OBAMACARE: Nullify It.

Why not? Nullification is nothing more than widespread civil disobedience. Think about illegal immigration and 'sanctuary cities'.

MORE: ObamaCare Is Still Vulnerable. Kill it by legal obstruction.

THIS POST led to this comment which led to this response, which ought to be required reading for all liberals of the progressive variety.

My only gripe is that Phantom is too hard on FEMA. Its defined role is to coordinate and pay, not perform. Granted FEMA did a lousy job coordinating, but it's the states and cities who have the responsibility to prepare for and implement disaster relief efforts. They abdicated their responsibility to an agency whose role it absolutely is not.

BARRY RUBIN: What Obama Should Have Done in the Last Four Years and Won’t Do in the Next Four Years.

And 4 years from now -- if we're very, very lucky -- we'll be where we were 4 years ago.

HEH: Denmark to scrap world's first fat tax.

UNEXPECTEDLY: 85% of Muslims Voted for Obama.

WALTER E. WILLIAMS: How to stop California's bleeding.

Given the widespread contempt for personal liberty and constitutional values, there might be a way for California politicians to solve their fiscal mess. They can simply stop wealthy people from leaving the state or, alternatively, like some Third World nations, set limits on the amount of assets a resident can take out of the state. This would surely be within their jurisdiction and would not raise any constitutional issues, because it would serve a compelling state purpose. In other words, if California were to set up border controls to stop people, as East Germans did at Checkpoint Charlie, before they cross the state line, such action would be protected by the 10th Amendment.

If government can force you to buy health insurance for the mere act of breathing, why not force you to leave your assets behind for the mere act of leaving?

MSNBC PANELIST: White People Against Abortion Because They're Trying to Build Up The Race.

One 'minor' problem with that assertion -- the black abortion rate is about three times the rate for whites.

HMM: Gun Manufacturer Stocks Jump 10% Day After Obama's Reelection. "Gun owners fear that the Obama administration will push for significant restrictions on gun ownership in his second term. Many plan on stocking up between now and his second term inauguration in January, 2013." So am I.

A VETERANS DAY MESSAGE.

DAM (INTENTIONAL) REGULATIONS:

Look at the 2 pictures; then scroll down.

This is an actual letter sent by the State of Pennsylvania to a man named Ryan DeVries regarding a pond on his property.

SUBJECT: DEQ ... File No.97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. DeVries:

It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:

Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond.

A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity.. A review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.

The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations.. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2010.

Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action..

We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
David L. Price
District Representative and Water Management Division.

Here is Mr. DeVries response:

Re: DEQ File
No.. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr.Price,

Your certified letter dated 11/17/09 has been handed to me. I am the legal landowner but not the Contractor at 2088 Dagget Lane, Trout Run, Pennsylvania.

A couple of beavers are in the process of constructing and maintaining two wood 'debris' dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of natures building materials 'debris.'

I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.

These are the beavers/contractors you are seeking. As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity.

My first dam question to you is:

(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers, or
(2) Do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request?

If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued. (Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.)

I have several dam concerns. My first dam concern is, aren't the beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation -- so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer.

The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event, causing flooding, is proof that this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling them dam names.

If you want the damed stream 'restored' to a dam free-flow condition please contact the beavers -- but if you are going to arrest them, they obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being unable to read English.

In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams).

So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/2010? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice by then and there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them.

In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real environmental quality, health, problem in the area. It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your dam step! The bears are not careful where they dump!

Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office.

THANK YOU,

RYAN DEVRIES & THE DAM BEAVERS

From my email. I don't know that it's real, but it is dam funny.

MOOSE HUNT.

From my email.

FEMA: disaster socialism, not disaster relief.

OBAMACARE'S PRICE: part-time full-time jobs.

FORWARD! -- over the cliff.

LEGISLATORS TAKE A BREAK from destroying California to endorse “Meatless Monday”. Bread and circuses -- without bread.

VETERANS DAY:

It's not just Grandpa any more. It's fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and future veterans -- those currently serving and those who will serve in the future. Thank you all, and may God continue to bless America.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Should we change the Electoral College?

WILL SOMEONE please explain how a President whose Approval Index hasn't been above zero since June of 2009 could possibly be reelected President without massive fraud?

UPDATE (& bump): I'm not the only one who is suspicious.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: "One way of making sense out of nonsense in this new age is simply to believe the opposite of what you read. I have been doing that and it often works."

DOWN FROM OLYMPUS, with questions left unanswered.

RIGHT ON SCHEDULE: Time to go after those awful “price gougers”.

The public would be better served if those same government employees were given gloves and shovels, sent to the disaster areas and told not to come back until services were restored and the mess cleaned up.

Unfortunately, most of them probably don't know which end of the shovel is which.

RIGHT ON SCHEDULE: More public lands to be closed to shale oil drilling.

GETTING OUT of Dodge city before the sheriff arrives: Hillary Clinton Turns Down Request to Testify on Benghazi Next Week.

POST MORTEM: This time, it's personal.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, the tough get going -- to Bangkok, Rangoon, and Phnom Penh.

THE TIMING IS JUST TOO PERFECT: "… And I suspect that these tough Chicago guys knew about this affair for a while, held it in their back pocket until they needed to play the card.”

JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU'VE HEARD IT ALL: San Francisco to foot bill for sex changes.

Anyone want to bet that it won't show up in the minimum requirement for an ObamaCare insurance policy we'll be forced to buy?

PETA TO KIDS: If you wouldn't eat your dog, why eat a turkey? Um, because turkeys are food and dogs are not?

PUPPY TIME:

MARK STEYN on the 2012 election: "The longer any course correction is postponed the more convulsive it will be. Alas, on Tuesday, the electorate opted to defer it for another four years. I doubt they’ll get that long."

JEEZ: Lockheed Martin Exec Who Followed Admin Lead on WARN Act Resigns Due to Affair. And the Democrats keep trying to tell us that women aren't powerful?

A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT about gun control.

And

TODAY IS the 237th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. The Commandant and Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps, Gen. James F. Amos and Sgt. Maj. Micheal P. Barrett, present the 2012 Marine Corps Birthday Message.