THE NEW AGE OF AQUARIUS

”When the Moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace shall guide the planets, and love will steer the stars. This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.”

”I hope I am wrong ... and that human nature really has magically changed in the era of Obama. So close your eyes, listen to the Messiah’s voice, and repeat: “Debts will be forgiven by creditors; inflation will not follow from massive borrowing; breakthroughs in solar and wind will power our cars and heat our homes; enemies will admire our compassion and join us to achieve world peace; and terrorists are either misunderstood or provoked needlessly by our bellicosity that alone stands in the way of peace.”

Believe all that and you can lay back and enjoy the Age of Obama.

And the cycle repeats.

POLITICAL PUNCH

“We’re 2-0 against Palin,” according to a senior administration official. Strikes me as more like 1-0 since only the NY-23 House race was discussed.

But, umm, didn’t Palin also endorse Christie in New Jersey and McDonnell in Virginia? For Governors? Seems more like 1-3 to me.

OBAMA’S COATTAILS

Why am I reminded of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

Peggy Noonan on White House adviser David Axelrod arguing that Virginia gubenatorial candidate Creigh Deeds should have embraced President Obama: “My goodness, throw the drowning man an anvil.”

Miss Noonan has a way with words. Read the whole thing.

BEST OF CLASS

Sarah Palin may have been one of the most qualified members of a presidential ticket in a decade.

The frenetic hostility to Sarah Palin, even by many on the Republican side, is unnerving, because her qualifications to be president are objectively better than those of almost anyone who has been on the national ticket over the past decade.

Read it all.

KILL THE BILL

There was (is) a “kill the (healthcare) bill” rally at the Capitol steps today, originally called by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN, 6th District), and sanctioned by House Republicans. Estimates of attendance are as high as 10,000.



Gateway Pundit has details and updates.

THE PUBLIC OPTION EXPLAINED

Scott Ott explains how the public option will work.

PALIN POWER

First Sarah Palin endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman over Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava in the NY district 23 Congressional race; then she endorsed Republicans Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie for the Virginia and New Jersey governorships respectively.

This morning it looks like a “two-fer” and possibly a “three-fer” for Mrs. Palin.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Sic transit gloria mundi -

Tuesday is usually worse.

DISMANTLING AMERICA

Thomas Sowell:

Nothing so epitomizes President Obama's own contempt for American values and traditions like trying to ram two bills through Congress in his first year-- each bill more than a thousand pages long-- too fast for either of them to be read, much less discussed. That he succeeded only the first time says that some people are starting to wake up. Whether enough people will wake up in time to keep America from being dismantled, piece by piece, is another question-- and the biggest question for this generation.

Wake up and read the whole thing.

Via Instapundit.

BACK AGAIN

Flu is not compatible with blogging.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

ARES 1-X launched on schedule at 11:30 EST - a perfect flight.

Does that ever bring back memories of my years at Cape Kennedy and downrange. Just watching on NASA TV I could feel the familiar tension building as the telemetry systems were brought on line and the vehicle took command of its own destiny.

I miss it.

[Update] Liftoff.



Image via CNN.

[Second update] Slide show of ARES 1-X launch here.

THAT WAS THEN

This is now.

Via Don Surber.

RED OCTOBER

Will "Red October" sink the U.S.S. Obama in November?

YUPPIE 911

From Don Surber:

The quote of the day has to go to Matt Scharper, head of California’s Search and Rescue operation, who spoke of On-Star and other GPS devices: “With the Yuppie 911, you send a message to a satellite and the government pulls your butt out of something you shouldn’t have been in in the first place.”

Rescuers are a tad peeved at people who take on the wilderness but still want someone to save them at the first sign of trouble.

The least we can do is to let these people pay for their own rescues.

A SMOKING WAFFLE

"Afghan President Hamid Karzai's top challenger called for a 'dramatic increase' in troops to ensure security in his country, suggesting a failure to send in reinforcements could put Afghanistan 'at risk' of falling to insurgents."

"President Obama pledged on Monday not to "rush the solemn decision" to send more troops to battle in Afghanistan as he weighs military options on what to do next in the troubled war."

The President's waffle has been on the griddle for so long that by now it must surely be burned to a crisp.

BROKEBANK MOUNTAIN

To be released in time for Halloween ....

A BENEFIT OF ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS

According to a radio advertisement by Kaiser Permanente, electronic health records will prevent global warming ....

By saving more trees.

Well, that's something, I guess.

ECOLOGICAL INSANITY

But it's for Gaia, of course.

David Thompson mocks an article by Alex Renton, which can be summarized quite succintly:

Poor societies - like Bangladesh - produce very little C02 per capita; rich societies - like us - produce large amounts of C02 per capita. Therefore a cull of rich societies would be at least 60 times as productive (for Gaia) as one of poor societies.

So Gaia is best served by a poverty-striken, disease-ridden , pollution-filled society, where life is brutal, hellish, and short? This is the progressive vision for Gaia?

I think not.

Original link via Hot Air.

GLOBAL WHATEVER

Dan Miller on the unknowable results of climate alarmism. Key grafs:

The only thing to be said with certainty is that there has been an increase in studies. “In 2008 alone, there were some 4000-odd peer-reviewed papers published on the topic.”

Despite the vast self-importance of humans, changes in the Sun seem to have a substantially greater impact on the Earth’s climate than we do, and there is nothing much we can do about that.

[Global waming alarmists] seem to have taken to heart the old poem “When in danger and in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout” without knowing whether there is a danger.

A lesson in systems engineering: “The law of unintended consequences puts their proposals in the realm of madness.”

ON AFGHANISTAN

Victor Davis Hansen: Voting "present" is not an option.