Some quick links

It's official: Post Office to stop delivering mail on Saturday  Beginning about August.

Al Sharpton drops 'God' from Pledge  "MSNBC might be the only place where God can’t get a shout-out from a Baptist minister."

72-year-old Las Vegas Homeowner ventilates burglar
....“Don’t screw with an old guy. They don’t have the strength to fight you, they’ll just kill you.”

Young Bucks: How And Why Your 401(K) Is Changing "We all wish people would not have to borrow from their 401(k)s, but when you consider the alternatives, it’s a viable option."

 

Drone Strikes, Waterboarding, and Moral Preening

Cliché alert: Obama is quoted herein saying - wait for It - "let me be clear".

Peter Wehner  "The president went on to trumpet the fact that he banned the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, saying, “I know some have argued that brutal methods like waterboarding were necessary to keep us safe. I could not disagree more.” .... Obama insisted that his policies would “regain America’s moral stature in the world.” This was a common Obama theme: He would act in ways that respect international law and human rights and remove the stain from America’s reputation."
....
A good argument in here is that no innocent bystanders were killed because of waterboarding captured terrorists. My big problem with all this is that the Obama Administration wanted to criminally prosecute Bush officials who used enhanced interrogation on those people.

"....there is a serious argument to be made that during wartime targeting terrorists, including Americans, with drones is justified. But that justification probably best not come from someone who has spent much of the last half-dozen years or so sermonizing against waterboarding, accusing those who approved such policies of trashing American ideals and shredding our civil liberties, and portraying himself as pure as the new-driven snow."....

I cannot dredge up much indignation for the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki because his fate was his own choice. He chose to be an enemy of the US and desired to kill as many of us as possible.
Should Americans fighting in Hitler's army have been arrested and brought to trial instead of killing them? And just how would we have done that?

Seven million will lose insurance under Obama health law

We the People   "Obama has said so many disingenuous things about this health care debacle."
"He claimed it would be revenue neutral, he wouldn’t sign it if it wasn’t, he said he favors competition in the health care market place, when in fact the ultimate goal is a single payer system thus breaking another promise that, “You can keep your own insurance and doctor.” "

Quoting Stephen Dinan  in the Washington Times"

President Obama’s health care law will push 7 million people out of their job-based insurance coverage — nearly twice the previous estimate, according to the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday.
CBO said that this year’s tax cuts have changed the incentives for businesses and made it less attractive to pay for insurance, meaning fewer will decide to do so. Instead, they’ll choose to pay a penalty to the government, totaling $13 billion in higher fees over the next decade.

Wounded Warrior Project changes mind and accepts donations from a Baptist organization

Still think America is a Christian nation?
American Thinker
"We were heartbroken," Pastor Wallace Cooley told Fox News.
It wasn't until after Liberty Baptist Church and Academy had already paid a $100 registration fee to raise funds for Wounded Warrior Project that the they received an email from the non-profit organization.








"Here is a copy of the actual letter sent to the Liberty Baptist Academy, as posted on The Blaze."

"But there has been an update to this story, due to the uproar on the internet and elsewhere. GOPUSA reports that:"

...."So what is going on here? Did the Wounded Warrior Project organizers commit a simple mistake, or are they bowing to public pressure. If funds from religious events are accepted on a "regular basis," then why does the web site state differently? And why did the e-mail received by the school also state that the funds raised by the church would not be accepted because of the religious nature of the fundraising event?"   Read more:

Taking America from Welfare State to Opportunity Society

Heritage  "Yet our modern, cradle-to-grave welfare state is structured in such a way that it hinders rather than boosts upward mobility. Despite a massive array of programs and colossal budgets, poverty rates remain high, our public education system is failing us, and the family—whose importance for the future well-being of children cannot be overstated—is falling apart among poor and low-income Americans.

arkansasgopwing.blogspot.com 

"President Obama made clear yesterday that he is more interested in additional tax increases than serious entitlement reforms. At the same time, the Congressional Budget Office was projecting that health care entitlement spending will be bigger than defense or even Social Security spending in just two years."

But the fight will be hard and the left will pound conservatives with their demagoguery. See this pro-welfare state cartoon and tell me how on earth Republicans will overcome things like this.  This is typical of ideas that are pounded into low-information voters' heads by movies, TV, most news channels, school books and pretty much every source of information they are exposed to.
Cartoon from schools.natlib.govt.nz 

Know what "trout pout" is? If you watch much TV, you've seen it often. (UPDATED)

Twisted sifter Update:

News for the low-information reader:

Watch out for 'trout pout,' one actress warns

"The lips get thinner as we age, and stars see lip plumping through injections of various substances as a way of looking younger.

Jocelyn Wildenstein after

"The problem is that many patients and doctors don’t get the lip proportions right. That’s when a full, “youthful” lip transforms into something fishy, said Youn, who runs the blog Celebrity Cosmetic Surgery.

"“The lower lip should be one and a half times the size of the upper lip,” he explained. “Some patients and doctors don’t know this and they go overboard with the upper lip. Some patients come in and say I want a bigger upper lip. And when you enhance it to the point where the upper lip is bigger than the lower lip, you get the ‘trout pout.’” Google photos





Jocelyn Wildenstein before

Vanessa Ferlito used to be on "CSI-NY", playing the typical, scowling, don't-mess-with-me role that was of a piece with the "trout pout" look. After the two previous photos, she looks almost normal, but then again, her look is the new normal.



Actual trout

Alan Caruba; A Cabinet of Dunces

Warning Signs  "A President reveals a lot about himself by his choices of his cabinet members to head various government departments and agencies. Some choices turn out to be historically significant such as Truman’s Secretary of State, George Marshall or Nixon’s choice of Henry Kissinger, but since the President sets policy, the blame or approval belongs to him."

...."This deliberate destruction of jobs, delaying access to traditional sources of energy, resistance to the actual transportation needs of the nation, a failed foreign policy, and panoply of other policies pursued by the out-going cabinet members will be continued by President Obama’s new choices to replace them."

The Rifleman; I knew Chuck Connors. Chuck Connors was a friend of mine and you, sir, are no Chuck Connors!

http://www.wnd.com/category/opinion/cartoons/

 

More irony in this administration

 

What reason would Obama have to NOT go after our IRA or 401k?

From Western Center for Journalism: Full Steam Ahead On Obama’s Theft Of IRA’s And 401k’s   ...."Linda and my daughter both want to know what the Obama administration intends to do after January 1. Is the national media so distracted by fiscal cliff hype that news concerning the potential federal theft of countless trillions from American citizens will not be forthcoming prior to January 1^st?"

Obama going after your 401k’s and IRA’s  Fear this man.

Others disagree emphatically with this:  "This is a really stupid article, and posting this thread requires a complete failure of rational processes.
" This was a hearing to collect viewpoints on why Americans aren't saving as much as they probably should. The idea that the government is considering eliminating IRAs and 401k plans is absurd; the idea that they're actually on the verge of "confiscating retirement accounts" is braindead stupid.
" Seriously. You're a pretty bright person. Quit believing all this stupid bulls***."
The reply to this:

They are talking about it. Can you deny that?
---The hearing, held in the Labor Department’s main auditorium, was monitored by NSC staff and featured a line up of left-wing activists including one representative of the AFL-CIO who advocated for more government regulation over private retirement accounts and even the establishment of government-sponsored annuities that would take the place of 401k plans.
 A representative of the liberal Pension Rights Center, Rebecca Davis, testified that the government needs to get involved because 401k plans and IRAs are unfair to poor people. She demanded the Obama administration set up a "government-sponsored program administered by the PBGC (the governments’ Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation)." She proclaimed that even "private annuities are problematic."

Other post-ers in this thread speak of "Wall Street" going after our money and they show a fearful ignorance of what Wall Street is. They have bought into the Obama-occupy philosophy and reveal it even while they refute conservative concerns.
I am a retired electrician, having worked with a tool bag all my career and (at present) not one of the left's despised factions in that regard. All those years my wife and I saved a good portion of our money, doing without many luxuries in order to prepare for retirement.
Much of our thanks goes to the hated "Wall Street" (In our case, Charles Schwab) for the growth of our money as their funds invested in the economy. Any wise decisions we made with our savings came from the wisdom of others who understood investing and the economy. We owe nothing to leftist academics nor to their progeny defecating in the streets and certainly not to Barack Obama.
In fact, "Wall Street's" help with our retirement has probably earned our family a place on Obama's enemies list.  The Tunnel Dweller

Twisted ghouls descend on murder victim, American hero Chris Kyle

Twitchy Liberals (meaning "progressives", leftists, Obama voters) rejoice at the killing of U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, author of the New York Times bestseller American Sniper.
"Unbelievable.  Because to some on the anti-gun Left, the terrible murder of an American military hero is an opportunity to LOL, score political points about gun control, and talk about “karma.” What is wrong with these people?!"

Chris Kyle was killed at a gun how ironic lol live by the gun die by the gun now I really believe he had it coming to him—
Patricia (@onepoliceplazza) February 03, 2013

#Karma is a bitch: NAVY Seal Chris Kyle Murdered at Charity Event in Texas bit.ly/Yt1PU0—
Dave The Merciless (@MercilessGuy) February 03, 2013

RT @BBCOneShow: US sniper book author shot dead: Chris Kyle, former US Navy seal, Iraq veteran and author bbc.in/11wLH8K Karma—
Craig Nash (@Birdblogger) February 03, 2013

LOL to the kid who compared Chris Kyle's death to the movie Shootout.—
Sean Flynn (@seanflynn9) February 03, 2013

NO IT`S KARMA IS A BITCH HA HA HA ‏@BIGGHH **TRAGEDY OR KARMA** Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL who was the U.S. military’s deadliest—
Mostafa (@IronMostafa) February 03, 2013

Ron Paul Slams Murdered U.S. Navy SEAL Sniper Chris Kyle here:
Ron Paul ✔ @RonPaul

Chris Kyle’s death seems to confirm that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.” Treating PTSD at a firing range doesn’t make sense.
 

 

Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer to Ron Paul: ‘Have you lost your mind?’; Update: Paul backpedals … a little

Hey @ronpaul have you lost you mind? That sword protected your freedom. Guess since I live by it I deserve to get murdered as well? #wow

10:55 PM - 04 Feb 13

In case you missed it…

From the blog, This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here comes this tribute to what they say is the best Super Bowl commercial ever.
"I missed it because I haven’t watched sports for years, but I read reviews of the Jeep/USO commercial on Facebook and it was everything they said it was. The good folks at the USO sent us the video;" 

"Great video, Jeep, you earned this link. Some of my best (and cutest) friends support the USO, I hope you do, too."