DAMMIT, ObamaCare is not a tax. Oh? Listen to the Solicitor General (about 3 minutes into the video).

IS MERITOCRACY A SHAM? It is when 'merit' is judged on the basis of how many degrees (and from where) one has.

HEH.

A LITTLE BIG for a bumper sticker, but ...


... it's accurate.

SUPREME COURT DECISION provides another reason to declare independence from ObamaCare.

WHAT WAS Obama doing on his Air Force One flight back from the Colorado Springs wildfire photo-op? Fundraising.

AFTER THE QUAKE, it's time to assess the damage.

THANK GOODNESS: Obamcare Saves Home Prices in D.C. Again. Obviously I don't live close enough to D.C. to be in the 1%.

OBAMA CAMPAIGN celebrates Independence Day ... with a fundraiser in Paris. Selling back the Statue of Liberty?

There's also a funny comment, not relevant to the post itself, but still funny in its implication: "Kenya claims Obama's birth certificate is US." Not even Kenya wants to claim him.

GREAT GIFTS to send the Obama campaign in lieu of cash contributions. I'd recommend one of these.

HAVE YOU TRIED FOSSIL FUEL? Fixing Wind Power's Bat Problem.

Damn those pesky unintended consequences!

FRIDAY NIGHT NEWS DUMP: White House salaries edition. The White House staff includes

two Ethics Advisors (to make sure no ethical loophole goes unused);

three Special Counsels and nine Associate Counsels (for those cases where the ethical loopholes are found wanting);

one Supervisior, Document Management and Tracking (to identify documents for Congressional investigators);

fourteen Records Analysts (to maintain the shredders containing them);

and three Calligraphers (for all those fundraising invitations).

Here's the list for your own reading edification.

SOME THOUGHTS about stress and how to relieve it:

* Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

* Never buy a car you can't push.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

* The second mouse gets the cheese.

* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY

* Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate!

From my email.

OOPSIE! University of Texas students hijack a U.S. government drone in midair.

COMPARED TO OBAMA'S VENTURE CAPITALISM, Romney's venture capitalism is looking pretty good.

METHINKS Neal Boortz overreacts.

ED MORRISSEY: A Modest Proposal. You wouldn't have to fine me, either.

OBAMACARE is now ObamaTax. No matter what you call it, the money still comes out of my pocket.

MAYBE THE PROBLEM ISN'T RACISM. Maybe it's just you, which might explain why people are more likely to tell you to “go screw yourself” than offer sympathy if you cry "racism" these days.

BACK AGAIN: The power outage for us lasted a bit over 30 hours, with power restored just after midnight last night. The 'emergency' is, I think, a bit overblown, since it hasn't been that long since air conditioning became commonplace.

The worst part of the power outage for us was that we lost water (the well pump is electric), and for me personally was that I couldn't blog.