YOU KNOW YOU'RE RETIRED when you spend more on gasoline for your lawn tractor than for your car.

BARNEY FRANK to (finally!) retire from Congress. His replacement on the House Financial Services Committee will be Maxine Waters (D-CA), assuming voters in California's 35th congressional district are foolish enough to re-elect her.

Looks to me like some Democrats are 'pre-jumping' from Obama's Titanic.

CORRELATION does not imply causation (but it sure is a hint to look around the cubicle walls).

HAVE A very Obama Christmas holiday.

GUNS: a better investment than gold? I haven't seen the television advertisements for guns yet, but if they're legal, they're surely coming....

Linked from Instapundit.

OBAMA JUST DOESN'T GET IT when it comes to business. To the contrary, I think he does 'get it' and is actively hostile to any enterprise that doesn't conform to his vision of social justice.

"THE TRAIN WRECK that's coming may be the most spectacular in recorded history. Wish I didn't have a front row seat." From the comments to this Mark Steyn post.

ARMED ROBBERY FAIL. "The sole customer in the [Denny's] restaurant, a licensed concealed handgun carrier, observed the suspects enter, pulled out his own gun, took cover and fired at the robbers ... the suspects returned fire and fled the restaurant."

FINALLY: Los Angeles mayor tells Occupiers to "hit the road, Jack."

PRESIDENT OBAMA among the 25 least influential people alive. At least he beat out MSNBC host Ed Schultz.

OCCUPY ALASKA protestors keep vigil despite the cold. It'll be interesting to see how long they can continue. Minus 30 degrees is cold.

THE SURPRISING NEWS about U.S. oil production. Good news, but ... it's Goldman Sachs making the prediction.

SURGES AND SETBACKS for trash-to-gas electricity.

"IT'S A SILICON VALLEY of strategic space for the U.S. government and Boeing’s crappy leadership ran it into the ground.” As one who worked in the "black world" for many years, I suspect that the root cause was not Boeing's 'crappy leadership' (though there is plenty of that, I can assure you) but the government's failure to abide by Kelly's Rules.

LIBERAL VIOLENCE RISING. Of course. Like any spoiled brat, progressives throw tantrums whenever they don't get their way.

ANOTHER EFFORT TO DISMANTLE THE UNION STATE: Indiana Republicans aim to get right to work on 'right to work'. I hope the Republicans are successful.

A BRIDGE TO NOWHERE: The Higher Education Bubble and Liberal Arts Education.

The problem, I think, is not so much the disparity between STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) graduates and liberal arts graduates as it is with the corruption of liberal arts: 'victim studies' does not sell well on the open market.

JONAH GOLDBERG: Bring back the lash?

JUST ANOTHER Black Friday at Wal Mart:

55-Year-Old Woman Gets Shot, Returns Fire With Her Own Pistol.

Woman Pepper Sprays Rival Black Friday Shoppers.

It's not a good idea to get between a woman and her Black Friday purchases ....

NEAL BOORTZ: It's all the Republicans' fault I can't redistribute America's wealth.