[Please note: links to news articles and accompanying headlines and text were valid and accurate at the time of posting but content often changes or is deleted by the original publishers for reasons they feel are warranted…ed]
Fake ZIP codes reported on stimulus Web site
Fourteen Virginia ZIP codes reported to receive $9.5 million in federal stimulus money can’t be found in the state. Recovery.gov, the federal Web site that reports how the stimulus money is used, lists funding and jobs created by ZIP code. The data is taken from reports filed by the stimulus recipients. Out of hundreds of ZIP codes listed for Virginia, seven don’t exist and seven are in other states.
Watchdog reporters found similar errors in other states. Nearly $650,000 was reported as going to six incorrect New Mexico ZIP codes, while in West Virginia, four reported ZIP codes aren’t real, and three are in Virginia. [I don’t know why but I can’t help but wonder if all of the “stimulus” millions “going” to phony congressional districts and now non existent zip codes are somehow winding up in the bank accounts of Democrat politicians up for reelection this year…ed]
Top Democrats head for the exits
The grim outlook for Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections just got a little worse. Four top Democrats — including veteran Sens. Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan — all prepared to pull the plug on their campaigns in a 24-hour period that began Tuesday, and in the process, offered an unnerving glimpse at the perilous election year ahead. With Dorgan’s stunning retirement announcement Tuesday evening, Democrats are now facing their bleakest election outlook in years — and the very real possibility the party will lose its 60-40 Senate supermajority after the November elections. On the House side, the prospect of a 20 to 30 seat loss is already looking increasingly likely. [The ‘Rats are scrambling for the exit doors as the Obamatanic begins to take on massive amounts of water…ed]
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon resigning post
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is stepping down, the result of a guilty plea entered Wednesday on one count of perjury. Dixon’s resignation will be tendered Wednesday and will become effective Feb. 4, when she is sentenced. Dixon, a Democrat, was convicted in December on one count of embezzlement stemming from her use of gift cards given to the city by Patrick Turner, a developer. Turner claimed the gift cards were intended for the needy. [Baltimore, Nancy Pelosi’s birthplace. What a shock as yet another crooked Democrat bites the dust…ed]
TrimTabs suggests government manipulated stocks
The unusual circumstances that led the U.S. market to rally powerfully in 2009 might be explained by secret government moves to buy stocks, according to Charles Biderman, the founder and chief executive of TrimTabs, a research firm that tracks liquidity flows in the market. “We cannot identify the source of the new money that pushed stock prices up so far so fast,” Biderman said in a statement Tuesday. The source of approximately $600 billion net new cash necessary to lift the market’s overall capitalization by $6 trillion last year could not be identified by TrimTabs, Biderman said. The money, he said, didn’t come from traditional players such as companies, retail investors, foreign investors, hedge funds or pension funds. [Big conspiracy theory or dead on the money?…ed]
What the Dems Know: Universal Voter Registration
Many are puzzled that Democrats persist in ramming unpopular and destructive legislation down our collective throats with no apparent concern for their plummeting poll numbers. A widespread belief is that the Democrats are committing political suicide and will be swept from one or both houses of Congress with unprecedented electoral losses next November. But since Democrat politicians rarely do things that will not ultimately benefit themselves, this column asked two weeks ago, “What do they know that we don’t?” We may have found out. It’s called universal voter registration. The Wall Street Journal’s John Fund described the Democrat plan recently at a David Horowitz Freedom Center forum. Watch the video here. [The Democrooks don’t care what we think because, very soon, they think they won’t have to…ed]
The Obamas: Conspicuous Sacrifice vs. Conspicuous Consumption
A recurring theme of the Obama White House is “sacrifice.” The president has repeatedly stressed the need for us to tighten our belts. He has informed us, “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times …” During the campaign, his wife told us that we have to compromise and sacrifice for one another in order to get things done. Shortly after the election, the president said that “[e]verybody’s going to have to give. Everybody’s going to have to have some skin in the game.” (SNIP) Michelle attended a luncheon for the homeless wearing a pair of $540 Lanvin sneakers. On a trip to Russia, she was seen sporting what was thought to be a $5,950 VBH alligator manila clutch. The White House protested that she was actually carrying the $875 VBH patent leather clutch. This is perhaps another example of self-sacrifice. She has ordered a pair of thigh-high leather boots from Robert Clergerie, a famous French designer. Had Governor Sarah Palin made any of these purchases, she would have been criticized on the front pages of the major newspapers. Their treatment of Michelle Obama is considerably kinder. She is seen as a fashion icon. [We’re movin’ on up to the WhiteHouse..to a deluxe mansion in the sky! Movin’ on up to the WhiteHouse..we finally got our piece of the pie!…ed]
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The news that Rush Limbaugh had entered a Hawaii hospital over the New Year’s weekend complaining of chest pains triggered a volcanic Internet eruption for the hard left — the likes of which we’ve never seen before. If Mt. Vesuvius could vomit in a literal sense, this would be it. This time, these radicals let their guard down and showed their true colors. The Twitter lines were ablaze as liberals celebrated the news, news that suggested Mr. Limbaugh was at the very least very ill, and quite possibly dying or maybe already dead. [Funny how I didn’t hear any over the top rhetoric from conservatives when that worthless drunken bum Ted Kennedy went to go meet his maker. In fact the left had the audacity to “warn” conservatives NOT to speak out in less than flattering terms about the killer of Mary Jo Kopechne. Y’all remember that?…ed]
Student arrested over “Nobama” sticker gets settlement
A Dakota Ridge High School student who wore a “Nobama” sticker taped across the front of his shirt prior to an appearance by Michelle Obama will receive $4,000 from Jefferson County authorities, the ACLU of Colorado announced today. The $4,000 settlement agreement with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and the Jefferson County School District avoided a potential lawsuit, according to a news release from Taylor Pendergrass, ACLU staff attorney. (SNIP) Benson was one of three students who chose to “stay and campaign” for Sen. John McCain at the school prior to the speech. According to the ACLU, Dakota Ridge school officials told Benson to leave. When he refused, officials had Benson handcuffed, searched and arrested for interference — a charge that carries up to six months in jail and a $750 fine. [Even the scumbags at the aclu get one right on a rare occasion…ed]
Pressure on Barack Obama to reveal what Britain said about Detroit bomber
After initially denying that they had received British intelligence, senior American sources confirmed last night that they were “reviewing” what British information had been received on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The admission is embarrassing for the White House and threatens to provoke a rift with Gordon Brown. The conflicting briefing over the shared intelligence also suggests that the transatlantic relationship may have weakened in recent months. Confirmation that Abdulmutallab’s name was passed to the US in 2008 would be a major blow to Mr Obama, although it could also open up accusations that George W Bush’s administration failed to collate intelligence properly. [Obama’s state department issued this guy a visa to travel to our country. This has nothing to do with the Bush administration…ed]
Airline attack shows Obama’s listless approach to terrorism
The word “vigilance” is sometimes mocked as reactionary and jingoistic. As in: “We must be vigilant to protect the homeland during this duck-and-cover drill against communists under every bed because loose lips sink ships.” But the failures in the war on terrorism during the past few months have been failures of vigilance. After warnings to American officials from his father, a radicalized Nigerian with ties to Yemen — holding a one-way ticket and no luggage — is allowed on a plane headed to Detroit. (SNIP) The reality here is simple and shocking: A terrorist with current knowledge of al-Qaeda operations in Yemen has been told he has the right to remain silent. [Listless? Worthless? Conniving? Treasonous? The list of adjectives is endless…ed]
DHS Decided It’s OK to Allow Some Terrorists to Board Planes
Even if Umar Farouq Abdulmuttalab had never boarded that Christmas flight from Amsterdam to Detroit wearing explosive underpants, a passage on page 17 of a report published in July by the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security would still be eye-popping. “Not all known or reasonably suspected terrorists are prohibited from boarding an aircraft, or are subject to additional security screening prior to boarding an aircraft,” says the passage. More than eight years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, people boarding commercial flights in the United States—and sometimes those boarding international flights bound for the United States—are still not screened against the government’s full Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB). This is not an oversight. It is a policy. [Sheer unrestrained lunacy brought to you by the current administration…ed]
Homeland Security’s National Operations Center ‘Unable’ to Do Its Job, Inspector General Finds
The Homeland Security Department’s National Operations Center (NOC) is “unable” to do its job of ensuring coordination among the 22 federal agencies that make up the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and focuses too much on disaster management rather than terrorism prevention, according to its own inspector general. The National Operations Center, in fact, functions largely in name only, and current operations apparently have diminished its ability to respond to terrorist threats. [More great news about Janet Incompetano’s Department of Homeland Giveaway. Islamic jihadists all over the world are putting down their goats and just eating THIS news up right now…ed]
Comedy Of Errors: Cameras Didn’t Work At Newark
It’s a tale of shocking ineptitude: CBS 2 has learned a series of missteps unnecessarily added to the mayhem at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday. The six-hour delay stranded thousands of people, creating extreme crowding and chaos. The mistakes made at the airport give new meaning to the term “domino effect.” It was a cascading series of missteps that cry out for action. The sign at the Transportation Security Administration screening post at Newark read: “Premises Under Constant Video Surveillance.” What is should add is: “If We’re Lucky.” [Can this stuff get any worse? Thank God an observant civilian noticed some yeahoo breaching the security areas in the airport and alerted the keystone cops with the cameras firing blanks…ed]
Military Blogger Michael Yon Detained, Handcuffed by TSA in Seattle Airport
Award winning war correspondent Michael Yon was detained and handcuffed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Yesterday by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel. Yon was returning to the United States from Hong Kong to visit family when TSA officials stopped him during a routine security checkpoint. “Officials asked me what was in my bag—nothing wrong with this question,” Yon said in an interview with BigGovernment.com. “I told them it was normal stuff, clothes and toothbrushes.” (SNIP) Yon was escorted to a room elsewhere in the airport where he said he remained silent during much of the questioning. According to Yon, “they handcuffed me for failing to cooperate. They said I was impeding their ability to do their job.” [Yet the guy wearing the bomb laden Fruit of the Booms strolls right through security and onto an airplane full of people. Sure am glad the jack booted thugs working for TSA have their priorities straight…ed]
Joan Rivers booted from flight because of second name
A jittery gate agent in Costa Rica booted comedian Joan Rivers, 76, off of a Newark-bound flight Sunday because her passport lists two names, according to a New York Daily News report. Her passport reads: Joan Rosenberg AKA Joan Rivers (Rosenberg was her late husband’s last name), the Daily News said. [Surely had her “aka” been something like Joan Hussein el-Muhammad this “jittery” gate agent would have let her slide right on through. Don’t want to piss off those muslims flying around on our airplanes now do we?…ed]
US screening ‘risks Nigeria ties’
The US is risking its ties with Nigeria by asking travellers from the country to undergo stiffer airport security, Nigeria’s information minister says. Dora Akunyili said she was disappointed with the US decision, which came after a Nigerian man was charged with trying to blow up a plane on Christmas Day. Earlier senior Nigerian officials confirmed they had officially asked the US to scrap the new rules. Another African nation subject to the new rule, Algeria, has also complained. [What are they gonna do stop accepting our foreign aid? Stop sending us their fraudulent emails? I’m completely down with risking ties with Nigeria considering all that country is known for are their scam artists…ed]
14 terror suspects mistakenly kill themselves
Fourteen suspected terrorists died Tuesday night when the bus they rigged with explosives blew up prematurely, police said. The explosion occurred as the suspects were riding the bus in the province of Kunduz, said police chief Abdul Raziq Yaqobi. Yaqobi said the suspects wanted to attack Afghan police or foreign soldiers. [Your good news post of the day. Sadly no video of the festive occasion is available…ed]
Police May Scrap Entrance Exam
The Chicago Police Department is seriously considering scrapping the police entrance exam, sources tell Fran Spielman. Dropping the exam would bolster minority hiring and avert legal battles, according to one source, while others confirm that the exam could be scrapped to open the process to as many people as possible. However, the lack of an exam would make Chicago the lone major city without one, and experts contend that the exam is integral to eliminating unqualified applicants. The CPD has tried in recent years to boost minority hiring by offering the police exam online and turning to minority clergy to help in the recruitment effort. [If I was a “minority” in Chicago, meaning non white of course, I would be insulted and offended to learn the only way the police department felt they could get me to join the force was to drop the method used for decades to initially determine if I had enough intelligence to do the job. If I was a resident I would be pissed off Chicago would hire people too stupid to tie their shoes to protect me and my family…ed]
Britain has dropped to 25th place on a list of the best places in the world to live – behind countries like the Czech Republic, Andorra and Lithuania. While France tops the poll for the fifth year in row, the UK is associated with a dismal climate, soaring crime rate and cost of living, congested roads and equally overcrowded cities. (SNIP) The U.S.A dropped from third to seventh place this because of last year’s economic collapse. ‘Sustaining the American Dream has escalated out of the reach of many,’ said a magazine spokesman. [YAY! We’ve dropped to seventh. Tip to everyone wanting to escape their hellhole and come to America, please PLEASE go to France instead…ed]
US mother, baby girl killed by elephant in Kenya
A lone elephant charged out of the brush as an American family was hiking near Mount Kenya and trampled to death a mother and the 1-year-old daughter she held in her arms, officials said Wednesday. Four adults and the baby were walking with an unarmed guide just outside Mount Kenya National Park on Monday morning when the elephant charged, said Kenya Wildlife Service official Michael Kipkeu. The family was hiking on a nature trail about 1 mile (2 kilometers) from the Castle Forest Lodge, where the family was vacationing, said the owner, Melia van Laar. [Mother nature is a discompassionate creature indeed. Everyone winds up playing by the same set of rules out in the bush. Sad this child’s parents weren’t more aware of this…ed]
Quote of the day.
The lack of money is the root of all evil.
-Mark Twain