Tonight's Awful Bedtime Movie: "Deadly Snail vs. Kung Fu Killer" (1977)

What's worse than a poorly-thought out, poorly-edited, poorly-acted nonsensical movie?

A poorly-thought out, poorly-edited, poorly-acted nonsensical kung fu movie.

Chang is a farm worker for his evil uncle. How evil? He's hiding from Chang the fact that Chang is in fact the heir to the estate.

For some reason Chang rescues a sea snail injured by snakes. A beautiful woman appears to him in a dream, telling him he can heal the snail with a drop of his own blood.

The snail transforms into...the beautiful woman. She falls in love with Chang and they marry. Rick Santorum's dire warnings of man/sea snail marriages have come horribly true.

Some nephew flirting and demons later, an evil woman, engaged to the nephew who flirts with the beautiful woman but who wants to marry Chang, convinces the evil uncle to steal the ring that holds the beautiful woman's power.

The evil woman and evil uncle throw the beautiful woman/sea snail into the sea. Sea snail's sisters open a can of jellied pain and the union of man and marine mollusk is preserved.

What I Learned: China's opium epidemic apparently extended well into the 1970s.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

San Fran will use government force to coerce employers into "hiring locally"

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — This city is about to enact one of the nation’s toughest ordinances requiring its officials to hire locally, over the objections of neighboring counties that say it will hurt their residents.

Under the ordinance, city contractors and subcontractors working on city-financed construction projects worth $400,000 or more would be required to hire at least 20 percent of their workers from San Francisco. The requirement will increase by 5 percent each year until it reaches 50 percent in 2017.

Contractors will be forced to pay penalties if they do not meet the requirement...

Of course, this is the same city council who boycotted Arizona for implementing the same policy, only on a wider geographic scale.

Here's a better idea. The government butts out of the business of business.

Employers should be free to hire whomever they want from whereever they want, and at whatever wage they mutually agree to. The purpose of government is not to use its legal monopoly on violence to bully and coerce people into living by the personal standards of powerholders.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Tonight's Awful Bedtime Movie: "Eegah!"

"Watch out for snakes!"

Long before he was Jaws, Richard Keil was an eons-old teenage caveman in this 1962 bomb.

Another one of director Arch Hall, Sr.'s vehicles for his singing, dancing, poor man's Elvis son Arch Hall, Jr., "Eeegah!" is widely known as one of the worst movies ever. So bad, Michael Medved picked it for his book "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time." (Actually, Arch Hall, Jr. isn't all that bad. Though, he eventually left films to become an airline pilot.)

In this one, Junior's girlfriend nearly runs over caveman Richard Keil. Her father, a somehow famous adventure book author (played by his father, director Arch Hall, Sr.) sets out to find him in the desert.

When he doesn't return, Junior and girlfriend set out to find her dad/his dad. But not before a long and pointless dune buggy scene. (For some reason, Junior's ownership of a dune buggy seems to be a major plot point.)

Oh, and a forced and seemingly unending musical number, seeing as the entire film was just a reason for Arch Hall, Sr. to push his talented, but not that talented, singing son.

Once they get off their duff and go look for him, Jaws kidnaps the cute girl and keeps her in his cave, along with his/her dad. Oh, and he also keeps thousands of years worth of dead relatives in the cave, whom he talks to.

Junior rescues them, so Jaws follows them to the modern day city to get his girl back. Movie ends with folks cleaning up caveman with a pool skimmer.

Acting, non-rambling dialogue and editing are not strong points. In an infamous scene, as Junior, cute girl and his/her dad walk away from the car, a poorly dubbed voice belonging to none of the actors bellows "Watch out for snakes!"

Despite having few words of actual dialogue and just grunting his way through the film, Kiel's pretty cool in this one. A delightfully and legendarily awful movie.

Westboro Baptist Democrats

Kerry Picket of The Washington Times reports on the latest tactic by union thugs to use fear and violence to coerce money out of employers, occupying territory outside private homes and harassing the private citizens inside.

THIS is why the Constitution protects your right to anonymous political speech, including contributions.

And THIS is why they want the DISCLOSE Act. The threat of being shot in your driveway by a union thug, which did happen in my hometown, is a serious deterrent to political acts contrary to the liberal establishment.

Rudolph meets Sarah Palin

Government bloat sends DC population over 600K

I love having more neighbors, but this isn't good news. Carol Morello and Dan Keating of The Washington Post report:

Reversing a half-century of decline, the District's population grew more than 5 percent over the decade and sailed past 600,000 residents for the first time in a generation...

...But the District owes its rebound to more than just a national back-to-the-cities movement with young adults and empty nesters gravitating to center cities. The city expanded through a decade in which government grew in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the financial crisis that led to the recession.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Dems rely on celebrity to tell them how to relate to Americans, Part 87.

Steven Spielberg hopes to do for Democrats what he did for "War of the Worlds" and "1941."

He's been tasked by Nancy Pelosi with the task of "rebranding" the Democrat Party.

I'm not sure which is more adorable, their fervent belief the reason their failed policies failed is because of "labels," or their fervent belief in the magical power of celebrities.

How Dems use taxpayer cash and government force to fill their campaign accounts

Unions profiting from favoritism by Obama's GSA

And unions aren't the only ones profiting.

Here's how the Obama union swindle works.

1) Government policies either force employers against their will to use union labor, or, in the case of the bailouts and stimulus, funnel taxpayer money directly into union paychecks. Many of these union workers have been forced

2) Union bosses skim millions of the forced dollars off the top of these largely forced paychecks in so-called "dues."

3) Union bosses then take this taxpayer or wrongfully seized cash, launder it through various bank accounts and then funnel much of it into Democrat campaigns and candidate advocacy

Presto. That's how Democrats use government force to either compel employers and employees to fund candidates they oppose, or just outright launder taxpayer money for their political use.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Something to keep in mind in the Obama age of greed, hate and envy

"America's abundance was created not by public sacrifices to the common good, but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America's industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages, and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance- and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way." - Ayn Rand

Friedman: A Case Study In The Liberal Mind

Liberals can't outright oppose the the 2001 and 2003 extended tax cuts, so Thomas Friedman, the angry, bitter Maoist columnist for The New York Times, continues the liberal effort to poison them by calling them a "stimulus."

He's lying, and he knows it. The tax cuts will not stimulate much new growth and they're not intended to. Extending the tax cuts simply staves off a backslide and double-dip recession. It doesn't push the car forward, it puts chocks behind the wheels so we don't go hurtling back.

Friedman then attacks everyone who disagrees with his Maoist views by calling Americans "exceptionally stupid," which fulfills two liberal fantasies -- visceral hatred for the individualist, free market United States and the view of oneself as morally and intellectually superior to the "sheeple" you have a duty to control and make decisions for.

Tonight's Awful Bedtime Movie: "Night Feeders" (2006)

I hear this isn't all that bad, but here's what I know so far about this film.

* Ninety-five percent of it was shot in a 200 square foot area outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.

* Vandals destroyed the set.

* Shooting was often interrupted by deer hunters dragging carcasses through the scene.

* The producer had to play a bit part after the actor got lost trying to find the set.

* The lead actor's biggest previous role was as an uncredited funnel cake vendor in the third "Major League" movie, "Major League: Back to the Minors."

As for the plot, four deer hunters in the South stumble upon man-eating aliens and must fight to survive the night.

Larry King's Greatest Moments

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Sharpton: Limbaugh will answer to the FCC for racism

Al Sharpton is back fighting hate, leading the charge at the FCC to pull hate broadcaster Rush Limbaugh off the air. Sharpton tells MSNBC's Ed Schultz that not only is he forcing the FCC to have a hearing on silencing Limbaugh, but Limbaugh will have to appear at the hearing and be held accountable for decades of spreading hate and division.

I hope Limbaugh does appear, and explain such racist rants like his 1987 on-air tirade falsely and angrily declaring six white men had gang-raped a 15-year-old black girl. Since the story was entirely fabricated, the victims of Limbaugh's words sued him for slander. A jury agreed and ordered Limbaugh to pay $345,000 for ten counts of defamation.

Not only did Limbaugh defy the court order and refuse to pay his victims, Limbaugh has never apologized for his racist defamation.

Limbaugh apparently didn't learn his lesson, because then in 1995 he led a hate-filled protest against a Jewish shopowner who wanted to evict a black-owned record store from a property he owned.

Limbaugh led intimidation protests aimed at bullying the landlord, bellowing through a megaphone "We will not stand by and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business" and declaring "If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house"

That's when one of Limbaugh's listeners, acting on his words, burst into the shopowner's store, gunned down several customers and set the place on fire, killing seven employees.

So yeah, as long as he's in the room I hope the FCC forces this racist blowhard to publicly apologize for a career built on stereotyping, racist slurs, outright slander and fomenting violence.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Tonight's Awful Bedtime Movie: "The Devil's Hand" (1962)

Rick is engaged to Donna, but not only will he not follow through, he keeps having dreams about a mysterious blonde. Donna's upset, but still sticks with him.

Late one night, Rick is mysteriously compelled to visit a doll store owned by an equally mysterious man named Francis Lamnot, and brings Donna back to the doll store the next morning.

Somehow, being engaged to a man who constantly tells you his dreams about another woman and takes you to a doll store he visited in the middle of the night isn't raising red flags with Donna. She's still in this one for the long haul.

While there, Rick finds a doll with the face of the woman he's been dreaming about. He asks Francis if he can deliver the doll to the woman who ordered it. The blonde, Bianca, who ordered a doll of herself, begins to seduce Rick.

And Donna? Still sticking around to see where Rick's going with this.

It turns out the doll store owner is a high priest in a cult that worships "Camba," the "Devil God of Evil." The cult meets behind the doll store, the neurotic doll shop owner/high prince of evil kills disloyal followers with an inane contraption of swords on wheels and the cult's goals aren't exactly clear.

What is clear, which isn't much in this movie, is that Francis and Bianca are luring Rick into the cult and planning to kill Donna.

At this point, Donna becomes suspicious.

Eventually Rick must choose between his fiance, or his weird new girlfriend and her satanic cult run by a man who owns a doll store and tortures his followers with swords on a wheel. What's never resolved is the question of just who is the most dysfunctional person in this stinkbomb.

Tonight's Awful Movie: "They Came From Beyond Space"

In this 1967 British turkey, meteors bombard the English countryside...

...Meteors populated by aliens who use mind control possess the brains of the townspeople!

It's up to a scientist with a plate in his head, and a man with a helmet made of melted-down cricket trophies to stop them.

It's based on a goofy 1964 sci-fi novel about aliens taking over Kansas.

Strangely enough, director Freddie Francis went on to win two Academy Awards for cinematography, including one for "Glory."

Judge declares ObamaCare mandate unconstitutional

So where does that leave Obama?

From here ObamaCare will be appealed to the Supreme Court, where it at first blush looks to be doomed to a 5-4 defeat of its individual mandate.

Without the individual mandate forcing Americans to buy insurance against their will to finance a system where insurers are forced against their will to provide coverage to everyone, the ObamaCare system collapses.

That leaves Obama with two options.

First, repeal the mandatory coverage requirements to save the entire health care system from financial ruin, leaving Obama with virtually no achievements on health care.

Even worse, he forced many Democrats to walk the political plank, handing control of the House and a larger Senate caucus for a bill that ended up overturned by a federal judge and repealed by Congress.

In other words, he destroyed the Democrat Party and got nothing in return.

The other option -- force a vote on single-payer.

Congress won't approve it, and even worse for him he'll force Democrats to take a vote they'll pay for later.

In other words, he destroys the Democrat Party even further, and gets nothing in return.

Perhaps now he's realizing why Democrats simply talked about socializing the health care system to whip up their base, instead of actually plunging their hands into that tar baby of socialist failure.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Tonight's Awful Bedtime Movie: Solarbabies (1986)

Mel Brooks produces great comedies.

Unfortunately, "Solarbabies" is a science fiction film.

Jason Patric, Peter DeLuise and Jami Gertz star in this 1986 bomb about futuristic orphans who play lacrosse on roller skates until Bodahi, an alien in the form of an orb in a cave, gives them mystical powers.

Coherent plot writing was not one of those powers.

They do manage to take down the evil corporation that controls the post-nuclear apocalyptic planet's water. Not much else is accomplished.

Taxation, UK protests and the liberal violence fetish

Rejected by voters, unable to get a DADT repeal passed through majority-Democrat Senate and snubbed by their own White House in their lust to raise taxes, more and more Democrats are doing what they do best -- openly fantasizing about violence, assaults and riots.

Posters throughout the Democrat nutroots are typing away their approval of the rampant violence leftists in the United Kingdom are using to respond to suggestions college students actually pay a little bit of their own education.

I keep telling people, and more and more are realizing it. "Liberalism" and "progressivism" are just pretty new words invented to describe an unpretty primitive concept -- using brute violence to beat others into submission so you can plunder their stuff.

It seems the only debate within the liberal community is at what point have you grabbed all you can using the polite, legally-sanctioned redistributive force of the state, and reach for the lead pipe.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Obama admits high taxes kill jobs

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports:

On a conference call with “Organizing for America” supporters tonight, President Obama explained his compromise with Republicans over tax cuts, saying that the “harm” the economy would suffer was “too great” to be able to afford a fight.

If the middle class tax cuts put in place last decade would have expired, “that would have cost our economy nearly a million jobs,” Obama said.

“All of this would have been damaging to those individual families," he said. "It would have been profoundly damaging to the economy, as well, at a time when, frankly, the economy is growing but we still have very high unemployment.”

Good point, Barack. Does this mean we can count on you to repeal capital gains taxes, death taxes...and even the income tax?

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

When attack ads attack

Not to mention the fact the ad strains all credibility, in that it asks the viewer to believe something fun and exciting once happened at Baylor.

From The Hill's "Blog Briefing Room":

Menendez: 'Aqua Buddha' ad a 'killer' for Conway

The chairman of the Senate Democrats' campaign committee called a controversial ad run by Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Jack Conway a "killer" for his failed campaign.

Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, criticized the ad and said his biggest mistake during the midterm election season was not asking for briefings on individual campaigns' television ads. In an interview with NorthJersey.com, he identified Conway's famous "Aqua Buddha" ad against eventual GOP winner Rand Paul...

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Trash cops nail granny for improperly tossing newspaper in garbage can

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted and you create a nation of law-breakers." - Ayn Rand

From this morning's New York Post:

An elderly Manhattan woman living on Social Security was slapped with a $100 ticket -- just for throwing away a newspaper in a city trash can.

Delia Gluckin, 80, tossed the paper in a bin right outside her Inwood apartment building Sunday morning, only to be ambushed by an overzealous Department of Sanitation agent wielding a citation book.

"I was walking to take the subway downtown and dropped it in a trash can, and this lady in a blue uniform ran up to me," Gluckin told The Post.

"I thought she was going to ask for directions. She said, 'You just dropped garbage in there,' " according to Gluckin...

...Sanit cop Kathy Castro wrote Gluckin the summons for putting "improper refuse" in a city litter basket.

Today's Guest Blogger: Jesse Ventura

Those of you who subscribe to the government mind control media, you probably read this morning in The Houston Chronicle that smoke from routine marshgrass burning is causing haze to form over the city.

Yeah, right.

This isn't just government disinformation, it's a literal smokescreen.

I know. I was on the inside.

You want the real story? You can't handle it.

I can. I was a SEAL.

You see, I have a source on the inside who tells me the government has developed a marsh grass/hypnosis chemical hybrid.

The mind control chemicals are activated by burning, and the smoke is used to control the minds of the population.

Once you inhale the some, they can then control your thoughts using subliminal messages over your radio.

It's the same burning plant chemical they used to convince Ricky Williams to return to football. (The CIA is using his Miami Dolphins paycheck to funnel money to Castro, who is really a CIA agent. And a hologram.)

Still don't believe me? Something sorta like that happened once somewhere, which is irrefutable proof it is always happening in every situation.

I should know. I was a governor.

An informant was supposed to give me one of the mind control marshgrass plants.

But they're burning the evidence right before our eyes, Mean Gene.

Yeah, go ahead and doubt me, Houston. Bud Adams' oil company is really a front group that genetically developed the mind control marshgrass. That's why he evacuated the Oilers 14 years ago so they couldn't have their thoughts stolen, or "moved the team" if you believe the official government story.

What's the next step after the smoke from the mind control marsh grass hypnotizes the entire city of Houston?

Simple. Force every Houstonian to begin rounding up people and forcing them into the biggest FEMA death camp of all -- the Astrodome.

Why do you think they built it? For a baseball team named after the space program?

A baseball team that operates under a anti-trust exemption ordered by the Supreme Court and space program developed by the government.

I went to the Astrodome looking for answers. They wouldn't let me in because it was "closed."

I'm a governor. They have to let me in.

Why Houston? It's obvious.

What's Houston known for?

Energy.

What does energy do?

It runs light bulbs.

What do light bulbs do?

Illuminate.

Illuminati.

Marshgrass. Bud Adams. The Astrodome. Federal Baseball Club v. National League (1922).

They've all plotting to steal your mind for 90 years, and your free thoughts are going up in smoke.

Think about that one, McMahon.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

'Because you caught my eye, and they didn’t'

The grinning TSA agent at Los Angeles International Airport could have picked any of the many passengers in a long line to be strip-searched by the agency's nude imaging scanners.

He went with former Baywatch star and Playboy centerfold Donna D'Errico.

D'Errico, flying her with son and boyfriend to Pittsburgh, was physically pulled aside by the male agent for "additional screening." When she asked him why she was chosen the male agent, still clinging her her elbow, told her, "Because you caught my eye, and they didn’t."

"After the search, I noticed that the male agent who had pulled me out of line was smiling and whispering with two other agents and glancing at me. I was outraged," said D'Errico, who told reporters the male TSA agents were "leering" at her scan.

"It isn’t right to hide behind the veil of security and safety in order to take advantage of women, or even men for that matter, so that you can see them naked. It’s a misuse of power and authority, and as much a personal violation as a Peeping Tom. The difference is that Peeping Toms can have charges pressed against them."

Just four weeks earlier, singer Fergie was forced by the airport's TSA agents to also submit to nude scanning.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Pride, Ponies and the Death Penalty

I'm not sure whether I'm going to really like this, or really hate it. The trailers seem to take a lot of misleading shots at Texas culture, but I'll reserve judgment until I see it.



http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

WTP flips off Upton’s promise of light bulb hearing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Contact: Donald Ferguson, 703-200-3669 or Donald.F@westerntradition.org

WTP FLIPS OFF UPTON’S PROMISE OF A HEARING ON HIS LIGHT BULB BAN
Group has issued report on Upton’s 80+ radical enviro votes, opposes chair bid

WASHINGTON — Western Tradition Partnership Executive Director Donald Ferguson issued the following statement Tuesday. The organization, the nation’s largest grassroots lobby dedicated to energy and property issued, urged its members yesterday morning to contact their Republican congressman or incoming Speaker John Boehner, to register their vehement opposition to Rep. Fred Upton’s bid to chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

WTP’s report on Fred Upton’s 23-year long Big Green voting record, compiling more than 80 major environmental votes, can be found at http://www.westerntradition.org/?p=1201 or at http://www.westerntradition.org.

“Fred Upton has not seen the light. This light bulb banner is just trying to screw conservatives.

“WTP’s fast-growing membership is not impressed with Fred Upton’s announcement to hold a hearing on his bill to outlaw incandescent light bulbs, just one of his many major votes over the last 23 years to take away your property and freedom.

“Big Green puppet Fred Upton can take his empty, do-nothing promise of a hearing and cram it somewhere it can’t be recycled.

“A hearing is a do-nothing promise to utter empty words in front of a TV camera and an empty room.

“A hearing is what a politician gives you when he doesn’t want to take actual action.

“In other words, a hearing is what a Big Green-controlled politician does when he wants to trick you into thinking he’s somehow changed after 23 years of carrying the agenda radical environmentalists.

“Much like the climate, Fred Upton’s radical environmentalist views did not undergo man-made change.

“Fred Upton’s statement he will hold a hearing on his light bulb ban is a trick play to mollify an outraged Tea Party. It’s not only unacceptable, it’s a sign his support is crumbling and he still has no intentions of changing his radical green agenda.

“WTP’s fast-growing membership will accept only one promise from Fred Upton, who has spent the last 23 years outlawing light bulbs, outlawing timber, mining and energy development, stealing private property, fighting for global warming taxes, exploding the size of the EPA’s bureaucratic army and funneling taxpayer money into the pockets of Big Green activists.

“WTP asks Fred Upton to issue a promise to drop his bid to chair the Energy and Commerce Committee, where he will use his gavel to continue to hammer employers and pound out a radical green agenda, and to resign from the committee entirely.”

# # #

Oh, the humanity!

It takes about a minute or so to get to the actual event, but it's worth it.


http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

If you're a disgraced, mentally unstable socialist trounced congressman trying to pick a verbal fight with a conservative, don't make it George Will.

$50 bet. Alan Grayson's breath continually smells like shoe leather.

RT @chrislhayes Just so we're clear: Democrats, currently in charge of Cong and WH, are about to ratify single defining domestic policy of W.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Poe: "Political hack" Chertoff getting "kickbacks" off radioactive strip search machines

That's my hometown congressman, yo.

"...There is no evidence these new body scanners make us more secure. But there is evidence that former Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff made money hawking these full body scanners.

"The underwear bomber tried to blow up a plane over Detroit last Christmas. Shortly thereafter, Chertoff went on a media tour promoting the full body scanners. This former Homeland Security chief told everyone we had to have the full body scanners at airports to be safe. Too bad he didn't disclose he was getting paid to sell these intrusive devices. Isn't that lovely?

"Meanwhile, the populace is giving up more rights in the name of alleged security. These body scanners are a violation of the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. There must be a better way to have security at airports than taking pornographic photographs of our citizens, including children, and then giving apparent kickbacks to political hacks."

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

How to be rejected on two continents in less than 10 days

Remember back in 2008, when the media and other liberals proclaimed Obama's election would usher in a new era of international respect and raise the United States' global profile?

Turns out other countries just like having an American leader they can push around:

G-20 refuses to back US push on China's currency (AP)

Leaders of 20 major economies on Friday refused to back a U.S. push to make China boost its currency's value, keeping alive a dispute that raises fears of a global trade war...The G-20's failure to adopt the U.S. stand has underlined Washington's reduced influence on the international stage, especially on economic matters. In another setback, Obama also failed to conclude a free trade agreement this week with South Korea.

Here's where the scary gets funny:

Obama made a case that he had a stronger hand on the world stage, despite his failure to push through a tougher stance on China's currency...He contended he has now developed genuine friendships with leaders including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak — and even China's Hu.

I never thought I'd hear "Yeah, she dumped me, but I came out ahead because I still have her phone number" from the leader of the free world.

Even The New York Times is heckling Obama's international impotence.

Obama’s economic view is rejected on world stage (New York Times)

After five largely harmonious meetings in the past two years to deal with the most severe downturn since the Depression, major disputes broke out between Washington and China, Britain, Germany, and Brazil.

Each rejected core elements of Obama’s strategy of stimulating growth before focusing on deficit reduction. Several major nations continued to accuse the Federal Reserve of deliberately devaluing the dollar last week in an effort to put the costs of America’s competitive troubles on trading partners, rather than taking politically tough measures to rein in spending at home.

The result was that Obama repeatedly found himself on the defensive. He and the South Korean president, Lee Myung Bak, had vowed to complete the trade pact by the time they met here; while Obama insisted that it would be resolved “in a matter of weeks,’’ without the pressure of a summit meeting it was unclear how the hurdles on nontariff barriers to US cars and beef would be resolved...

...The disputes were not limited to America’s foreign partners. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner got into a trans-Pacific argument with one of his former mentors, Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, after Greenspan wrote that the United States was “pursuing a policy of currency weakening.’’ Geithner shot back on CNBC that while he had “enormous respect’’ for Greenspan, “that’s not an accurate description of either the Fed’s policies or our policies.’’

Much of the rest of the world seemed to share Greenspan’s assessment. Moreover, Obama seemed to be losing the broader debate over austerity. The president has insisted that at a moment of weak private demand, the best way to spur economic growth is to have the government prime the pump with cheap credit and government stimulus programs. He quickly found himself in an argument with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.

Politi"Fact" lies again

More lies from so-called "PolitiFact" (a project of a St. Petersburg newspaper that endorsed Obama.) In a newspaper op/ed, Allen cites statistics showing Obama's policies will create a long-term debt of $16.6 trillion.

So-called "PolitiFact" declares Allen's op/ed a "lie" by telling readers Allen was referring to the current debt.

It is PolitiFact that is lying. Yet again.

Allen's column refers to Obama's debt in the long-term, pointing to an "ascending trajectory," and makes references to host of other long-term Obama policies. The entire column was about voters rejected where Obama is leading us, not just where he are right now.

Someone needs to call out so-called "PolitiFact" for a long and repeated history of falsely declaring things to be a "lie" in a bid to defend the Democrat president their parent paper endorsed.

47% of Dems want Obama opposed in primary

We're still 14 months away from the 2012 Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contests of the presidential race, but an Associated Press-Knowledge Networks Poll released today shows President Barack Obama's path to re-nomination, much less re-election, is anything but smooth.

"Among all 2008 voters, 51 percent say he deserves to be defeated in November 2012 while 47 percent support his re-election," the AP reports. Keep in mind that electorate is far more pro-Obama than the likely 2012 electorate.

Nine out of ten Republicans oppose Obama's re-election, unsurprisingly. Among Democrats, one out of four oppose his re-election. Among independents, who decide elections, Obama's re-election bid trails by 10 points, 46 percent to 36 percent.

But it's those Democrat numbers that should give the White House reason to worry. "Among Democrats, 47 percent say Obama should be challenged for the 2012 nomination," the AP reports. Many of those backed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 nomination contest.

Along with 61 percent of Clinton 2008 backers, a troubling 29 percent of Obama's 2008 backers now want a 2012 primary challenger.

"More than 1 in 4 who said in October 2008 that Obama understands the problems of ordinary Americans now say he doesn't. The same is true for those who said he is innovative, cares about people like them and shares their values," the AP reports.

"Of those who said right after the 2008 election that they had a favorable opinion of Obama, nearly one-quarter now view him negatively," the AP reports.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Democrats outspent GOP this year by nearly $200 million

Let's get one post-election excuse out of the way right now -- the old "we were outspent by the GOP and corporations." Not only did the Democrat party committees outspend the GOP ones, among outside groups the single biggest spender is the pro-Democrat government employees' union, which outspent the Chamber, Karl Rove and other Democrat boogeymen by tens of millions. Democrats outspent Republicans this year.

"The money race totals come to $856 million for the Democratic committees and their aligned outside groups, compared to $677 for their Republican adversaries, based on figures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics," POLITICO reports today.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

WTP statement on the latest lawsuit filed against Dennis Unsworth

Western Tradition Partnership Executive Director Donald Ferguson released the following statement Friday morning concerning the latest lawsuit filed against Montana Political Practices Commissioner Dennis Unsworth:

“Western Tradition Partnership (WTP) noted with interest today the suit filed against Montana Political Practices Commissioner Dennis Unsworth by the organization “Montana Shrugged.” In that suit, Montana Shrugged sued the Commissioner to prevent him and the State of Montana from enforcing unconstitutional provisions of Montana’s campaign finance laws that infringe upon their constitutionally-protected political activities.

“WTP made these unconstitutional provisions of Montana law known to Commissioner Unsworth long before Montana Shrugged filed their lawsuit. Yet, despite WTP’s good faith efforts to work with the Commissioner to ensure he did not waste Montana taxpayer money on frivolous investigations that violate the free speech rights of WTP and other persons who speak about issues in Montana, the Commissioner recently released an unsupported and poorly written opinion attacking WTP’s independent expenditures.

“The Commissioner made this assertion despite knowing the United States Supreme Court categorically stated independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption. Therefore, as Montana Shrugged has asserted in its lawsuit, and as we have made known to Commissioner all along, the State has no interest in banning or regulating the political speech of WTP or any other association in Montana.

“WTP is in the process of preparing its own lawsuit against Commissioner Unsworth for his actions which violate WTP’s First Amendment rights, and for his politically-timed smear attack against WTP and other conservative issue groups in Montana.

“The claims to be asserted by WTP will track those made by Montana Shrugged, and will go further to assert the Commissioner’s entire regulatory and investigative process violates the due process clause of the United States Constitution because there is no meaningful opportunity for a group, like ours, to defend against or refute unsubstantiated and mean-spirited allegations before the Commissioner makes a violation determination.

“The Commissioner has a terrible track record of violating Montana’s First Amendment rights, recently being rebuked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for “petty bureaucratic harassment” of a church in Helena. That suit cost the State over $200,000 and, as indicated by the lawsuit filed by Montana Shrugged, the Commissioner’s unconstitutional actions in that case and our legal case could cost state taxpayers even more.

“WTP has always obeyed all applicable, constitutional laws and engages in lawful public education campaigns and citizen-powered lobbying of policy-makers. We are disappointed the Commissioner is using his office to try to enforce clearly unconstitutional laws, and against lawful organizations like ours.

“We strongly encourage the Montana Legislature to conduct oversight of this office during the 2011 legislature, to reform the State’s tragically broken campaign finance laws, and to ensure the person charged with enforcing Montana’s campaign finance laws is not a partisan, political appointee. Though WTP has suffered an unfair attack as a result of the Commissioner’s unconstitutional actions, WTP is hopeful some good will come out of its efforts to uphold the First Amendment and real reform for the better will occur.”

# # #

Obama unwittingly makes himself the punchline

What did we learn from the supposed leader of the free world's appearance on a late night basic cable comedy show?

That Obama economic adviser Larry Summers, the man behind even higher unemployment, even higher debt and even higher inflation, "did a heckuva job."

"You don't want to use that phrase, dude," Stewart recommended with a laugh.

And, when asked why people should continue to support him after two years of disappointment,

"We have done things that some folks don't even know about," Obama ventured.

Amazing. In two years the only thing Obama had managed to accomplish is combining two of the most infamous quotes of George W. Bush and Richard Nixon.

Dana Milbank, one of The Washington Post's more left-leaning reporters, destroys Obama's latest bumbling here.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 2
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 3
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

They ignored us. They must love us.

The Washington Post tries to contact more than 1,400 Tea Party organizations. Only a minority, 647, bothered responding. Of those who didn't hate the Post enough to ignore the call, 66% percent reported media coverage of the Tea Party was at least "somewhat fair." That works out to about 420.

The Post' spin based on the fact only about 420 of more than 1,400 Tea Party organizations said the media were at least "somewhat fair?" That the Tea Party doesn't believe in media bias.

Of course, this is the same paper who polled Virginia voters, found less than one percent cared about Bob McDonnell's college thesis paper, and wrote a hysterical front page story that Virginia voters were concerned about McDonnell's college thesis.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

The "extreme" mainstream

I was struck this morning by this line from a Nation editorial on "The Extremist GOP":

Even so, Florida's Charlie Crist, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and Rhode Island's Lincoln Chafee remained Republicans in good standing. This year, all three are running insurgent independent campaigns against a GOP that has folded Ronald Reagan's "big tent."

So, the Naton implies that Crist, Murkowski and Chafee represent the mainstream, and their Republican opponents are relegated to the fringes of popular opinion.

U.S. Senate race - Florida
St. Petersburg Times poll
Conducted 10/15 - 10/19
Marco Rubio (R) 41%
Charlie Crist (I) 26%
Kendrick Meek (D) 20%

U.S. Senate race - Alaska
Daily Kos/PPP (D)
Conducted 10/9 - 10/10
Joe Miller (R) 35%
Lisa Murkowski (I) 33%
Scott McAdams (D) 26%

Rhode Island gubernatorial race
Brown University
Conducted 9/27 - 9/29
Frank Caprio (D) 30%
Lincoln Chafee 23%
John Robitaille 14%

So, the only former Republican-turned-independent who leads his "extreme" Republican opponent is Lincoln Chafee, who's running in a race where the Obama agenda is not an issue and in a state where John McCain got just 35%. And he's still losing.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Why 'the leadership question' matters this year

Interesting find from The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza (Whom you can follow on Twitter via @TheFix):

...a recent poll conducted for The Hill newspaper showed that 61 percent of independents in 10 battleground districts viewed Democratic leaders as more left-leaning than they are, while only 16 percent said that Pelosi and Reid hold views similar to their own. The survey also showed that even 23 percent of likely Democratic voters viewed Pelosi and Reid as to their ideological left.

By contrast, only 38 percent of independents viewed House Minority Leader John Boehner or Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as to the ideological right of them.

Read Mr. Cillizza's full article at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/harry-reid-nancy-pelosi-and-th.html?wprss=thefix.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Western Tradition Partnership responds to Unsworth

BOZEMAN – Western Tradition Partnership Executive Director Donald Ferguson released the following statement Thursday:

WTP has had very little time to review the decision today handed down by the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices. Consequently, WTP cannot comment on the merits of the opinion. However, Western Tradition Partnership has always obeyed all applicable campaign finance laws and regulations. In response, WTP intends to file an action against the Commissioner of Political Practices in order to vindicate its First Amendment free speech rights. WTP believes that, with time, the legal issues will resolve themselves, and will be resolved in favor of WTP.

And, that’s what this opinion and the Commissioner’s complaint process should be about, application of the law. With this in mind, WTP is very disappointed in the content and tone of the opinion. The opinion clearly denotes that the complaints filed here do not allege coordination between WTP and CEE and another party, person or entity. And, indeed, the Commissioner’s opinion itself finds no evidence of coordination.

Yet, the opinion drags the names of WTP’s counsel, the Republican Party, numerous political candidates, persons associated with different organizations, and lawful businesses into the mix and alleges that there is . These persons have nothing to do with the legal questions of whether there was proper attribution of the mailers at issue and whether WTP was/is required to file as a political committee in Montana and the Commissioner had no right and authority to make these persons and entities a part of a widely distributed public document.

It appears that the opinion is written to score political points as much as it written to discuss the application and reach of Montana’s campaign finance laws and whether the First Amendment places any limitations on those laws. The tone and content of the opinion do not reflect well on the Commissioner, his office, or the State of Montana.

Further, the timing of the opinion is interesting. Earlier this week, WTP won its case against the Commissioner on whether Montana could prohibit corporations from directly expending funds on independent expenditures. Further, this opinion was released less than two weeks away from the November 2, 2010 election date.

It must be remembered that this opinion comes from the same office that was slapped down by the Ninth Circuit of Appeals for its heavy handed, and unlawful, tactics in regulating the activities of Canyon Ferry Baptist Church in Helena. That case cost the State of Montana some $225,000. The Commissioner’s track record on determining the application of Montana’s campaign finance laws and in hindering the ability of persons and entity’s to engage in the First Amendment protected speech and association rights is not a good one.

In light of this decision, WTP believes that serious reform of the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices office is needed. WTP encourages the 2011 legislature to engage in oversight of the activities of this office and its expenditures.

Further, WTP encourages the State of Montana to do what other states have done and remove the Commissioner of Political Practices position from being a governor appointed one. Such partisan appointments, when combined with decisions such as this one, do not install faith in the independence of the office for those who engage in political speech and activities in Montana.

# # #

‘John Hickenlooper is so radical he thinks he can control global weather through tax hikes.’

WTP ad exposes 'insane' Hick plan for 'tens and tens and tens of billions of dollars every year' in job-killing weather taxes 
DENVER – Colorado’s largest grassroots advocate of lower taxes and affordable energy began statewide promotion Friday of a hard-hitting Internet ad exposing a videotaped call by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper for governments to spend “tens and tens of billions of dollars each year” on global warming taxes. 
 
In an address to the Colorado Environmental Coalition’s “Rebel with a Cause” May 2009 gala, the Democratic nominee for governor told the crowd, “I’m saying that clearly the climate is changing, clearly mankind’s activities are causing it. And that we’d be ins…insane not to be spending tens and tens and tens of billions of dollars every year buying insurance to begin to prevent and stop that change that’s happening.”
 
“John Hickenlooper is so radical he thinks he can control global weather through tax hikes,” said Donald Ferguson, Western Tradition Partnership Executive Director.  “He can’t control global weather by killing your job through, in his own words, 'tens and tens and tends of billions of dollars every year' in tax hikes.  But he can stop his sliding poll numbers by renouncing this insane job-killing plan.”
 
“The only man-made disaster in Colorado is John Hickenlooper’s insane plan to tax jobs into extinction,” said Ferguson.
 
The Internet ad, being promoted statewide, features Hickenlooper’s videotaped call for higher taxes, then asks residents to contact the gubernatorial candidate and urge him to renounce his plan, which would lead to massive job losses.
 
The direct link to the ad is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBasyMuH-zY. WTP's YouTube channel, featuring all of WTP's ads, is at www.YouTube.com/WTPMedia.
 
WTP does not advocate the election or defeat of candidates.  Supported by grassroots members, WTP is a fast-growing non-profit organization dedicated to fighting environmental extremism and promoting private property and responsible development and management of land, water, and natural resources.  WTP is incorporated in Colorado, and Coloradans account for much of the group’s large and fast-growing membership.
 
For more information on WTP, go to http://www.westerntradition.org.  For more information on this issue, or to schedule an interview, contact Political Director Donald Ferguson, Donald.F@westerntradition.org or 703-200-3669.
 
#  #  #

Er, thank you?

This is from what is supposed to be a Denver Post endorsement for Michael Bennet:

...Michael Bennet has been mostly AWOL since he was appointed senator in January 2009.

From that day, he has been running for election and, at times, running scared...

...But with that newfound control of Washington, Obama and the Democrats overreached. They moved the country to the left, helping to stick future generations with trillions in debt by reckless spending on a stimulus package and other programs, legislating health-care reform that failed to slow the growth in costs, and lavishing billions on corporate bailouts and takeovers.

Sen. Bennet, unfortunately, has helped push that agenda along.

If he had bucked his party and his president on just one major issue, and in turn shown some Colorado independence, it would have been much easier to endorse him. Instead, his 20-month career has been frustrating to watch, leaving voters, and us, with a difficult choice.

On Dec. 21, 2009, for example, he made an impassioned speech on the Senate floor, blasting Washington lawmakers for their dirty dealing as they patched together a health care bill larded with special deals. It was an eloquent speech and a devastating indictment on all that's wrong with Washington. Then, three days later, he voted for the bill.

The current health care bill is law because of Bennet's one vote.

That vote, and his speech, epitomize his short Senate career: So much potential, yet not enough spine.

For 20 months, he wouldn't take a position on the Employee Free Choice Act — a giveaway to labor unions that makes it easier to organize — because he was worried about ticking off labor and getting a primary challenger (which he got anyway).

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

GOP opens biggest lead in Zogby poll

Republicans have opened up a nine point generic ballot lead in the latest Zogby poll, considered by many to be a Democrat-leaning survey. Tied at 45 percent on Monday, the rapidly-growing nine point lead is the largest measured this year and indicates the Democrat "enthusiasm gap" is growing worse.

Not only do Republicans lead among independent voters by a crushing eighteen point margin, 49 percent to 31 percent, but approval of Obama's job performance among Democrats has plunged nine points this week, from 88 percent to 79 percent, and the percentage of Democrats who plan to support their party's candidate for Congress fell eight points, from 88 percent to 80 percent.

Keep in mind, however, polls are simply a snapshot of public opinion at that time, and with 18 days to go anything can happen.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

White House attempt to defend Obama's "shovel ready" gaffe betrayed by math

From reporter Amanda Carey in this morning's Daily Caller:

In a press briefing Thursday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs addressed President Obama’s comment in a recent interview with the New York Times regarding the stimulus and “shovel-ready projects.” In the interview, Obama curiously said that he realized too late that “there’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects.”

“Well, I — look, there are more than 75,000 job-creating projects have been started as a result of the infrastructure investment in the — in the Recovery Act,” said Gibbs.

Let's take Gibbs at his words and assume that 75,000 jobs figure is in no way padded or inflated, though the White House has already established a well-documented record of falsifying jobs numbers.(1)

The "stimulus" bill spent $105.3 billion on "infrastructure improvements."(2) If 75,000 jobs were created that comes out to $1,404,000 in borrowed government spending per job created.

$1.4 million in spending for each temporary infrastructure "stimulus" job.

And that's the best-case scenario, not including the cost of interest on the borrowing or the fact it is all but certain fewer than 75,000 jobs were created.


(1) - The Heritage Foundation, "Morning Bell: The Fake Jobs of Obama’s Failed Stimulus," Nov. 17, 2009
(2) - The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Obama: Those who disagree with me harbor a racist 'tribal attitude'

CBS News' Brian Montopoli reports:

Asked about what the questioner saw as an increase in racial tension Thursday, President Obama said a "tribal attitude" can come as a result of economic hardship...

...He then suggested that the recession has played a part in driving racial antagonism while he has been in office.

"Often times misunderstandings and antagonisms surface most strongly when times are tough. And that's not surprising," Mr. Obama said, arguing that Americans are less worried when things are going well.

He added that anxiety over not being able to pay bills - or having lost a job or a home - sometimes "organizes itself around kind of a tribal attitude, and issues of race become more prominent."

In other words, if you're angry at Obama because you lost your job, you're really angry because you're a primitive-thinking racist.

You know, often times the liberal views of everyone else as racist, sexist, ignorant inferiors surfaces most strongly when times are tough.

And that's not surprising.

WTP TV ad exposes John Morse's job-killing record

DENVER – Colorado’s largest grassroots advocate of lower taxes and affordable energy is flooding the airwaves of Colorado Springs with a new television ad holding State Senate Majority Leader John Morse responsible for tax hikes and spending increases that have helped leave 27,000 unemployed in that city alone.

“27,000 Colorado Springs families are unemployed, their jobs killed by a volley of twelve big tax hikes and a $400 million barrage of government spending, and Senate Majority Leader John Morse is holding the smoking gun,” said Joseph Neville, Western Tradition Partnership Political Director.

“When Senate Majority Leader Morse is holed up in Denver, he blithely ignores the needs of Colorado Springs families. We hope that now he has to return and see 27,000 families without jobs because of his big-spending, big-taxing agenda, residents can change his mind,” said Neville.

WTP’s initial ad buy is $50,000. The ad is also available for viewing at WTP’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/WTPMedia. The ad urges residents to contact Morse and ask him to change his views.

The direct link to the ad is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g98l9OeiwM0. 

WTP does not advocate the election or defeat of candidates.  Supported by grassroots members, WTP is a fast-growing non-profit organization dedicated to fighting environmental extremism and promoting private property and responsible development and management of land, water, and natural resources.  WTP is incorporated in Colorado, and Coloradans account for much of the group’s large and fast-growing membership.
 
#  #  #

Ready. Aim. Backfire!

What has 20 months of pushing ObamaCare, Cap and Tax, a $4 trillion tax hike and screaming "the Tea Party is racist and extreme" accomplished for Democrats?

Voters are now more likely to Democrats are controlled by extremists than Republicans, including must-win independents and Democrats themselves.

As reported by Alexander Bolton in this morning's The Hill:

Likely voters in battleground districts see extremists as having a more dominant influence over the Democratic Party than the GOP.

This result comes from The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll, which found that 44 percent of likely voters say the Democratic Party is more dominated by its extreme elements; whereas 37 percent say it’s the Republican Party that is more dominated by extremists.

The revelations in a survey of 10 toss-up congressional districts across the country point to problems for Democrats, who are trying to motivate a disillusioned base and appeal to independents moving to the GOP ahead of the Nov. 2 election.

The polling firm Penn, Schoen and Berland conducted the survey, contacting 4,047 likely voters by phone between Oct. 2 and Oct. 7. The margin of error for this sample is 1.5 percent.

Okay, so voters overall think Democrats are more likely to be controlled by radicals than Republicans. It's either a poll of a tiny sameple, or Republicans are skewing the sample. There's no way independent voters could see Democrats are more radical than Republicans after 20 months of pointing and screaming "Racist!" at anything that disagree with us.

The polling firm Penn, Schoen and Berland conducted the survey, contacting 4,047 likely voters by phone between Oct. 2 and Oct. 7. The margin of error for this sample is 1.5 percent...

...Results for independent voters reflected the larger sample. Forty-three percent of likely independent voters said the Democratic party is more dominated by its extreme elements compared to 37 percent who though the GOP had fallen under the sway of extreme views.

Oh.

Well, at least Democrats realize Republicans are more radical than their own party.

More than one in every five Democrats (22 percent) in The Hill’s survey said their party was more dominated than the GOP by extreme views. The equivalent figure among Republicans is 11 percent.

Poopie.

The data surprised Democratic strategists and political experts in a campaign season when much media attention has focused on the battle between the GOP establishment and Tea Party-backed candidates such as Sharron Angle in Nevada and Christine O’Donnell in Delaware.

They said it suggests problems for a Democratic party seen as too liberal.

“That’s real trouble for Democrats,” said Jim Kessler, co-founder of the Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank.

“All the press coverage has been about how these Tea Party candidates are fringe ideologues, and there have been high-profile examples of them proving the point,” he added. “Yet, still at this moment, you have independents saying, ‘I think the Democrats are little more extreme than the Republicans.’”

How bad is it? A majority of Democrats want their party to be more like the Republicans.

Fifty-eight percent of Democrats said they would urge the lawmaker they supported to “look for compromises across the aisle”; only 35 percent would rather urge their representatives to “stay firm on their principles.”

Kessler, of Third Way, said this is a sign that many Democrats think their party has shifted too far to the left in recent years.

“Even Democrats feel the Democratic Party needs to reach to the center,” he said. “There’s a fear that maybe Democrats overreached in the first two years. They should work to get something done but not fall on their own sword.”

So clearly Democrat party bosses realize they've gone too far toward socialism and are working hard to repair their trust with voters.

But liberal opinion leaders reject this argument.

Charles Chamberlain, political director of Democracy for America, a grassroots advocacy group founded by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, urged Democratic leaders not to abandon liberal principles to work with Republicans.

“Ask Americans if they want Democrats to compromise on any specific issue like healthcare reform, Social Security or tax cuts for the wealthy and the real-world answer becomes no,” said Chamberlain.

Big problem there, Charlie. A majority of voters oppose the Democrat proposals for "health care reform" and killing "tax cuts for the wealthy," and an increasing number are troubled with the fiscal unsustainability of Social Security. I guess Charlie's definition of "the real world" is downtown San Francisco.

White House promotes backpedaling as efficient form of transportation

"There’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects." - Barack Obama, Time magazine, quoted Oct. 13, 2010

Really? A search for the term "shovel ready project" on the White House website turns up two pages of results, including:

"In making these grants available today, the Department is acknowledging the importance of healthy homes and protecting our children from dangerous lead hazards," said Secretary Donovan. "And not only will this program contribute to healthy, safe homes for all children and families, which is a top priority for HUD, but it will also support shovel-ready projects..." Joe Biden, May 15, 2009

"The ambitious effort follows an initial 100 day period of the Recovery Act focused on providing immediate relief to hard-hit families and communities, jump-starting shovel-ready projects..." - White House press release, June 8, 2009

"A state DOT planned to spend $57 million on road planning studies, rather than shovel-ready projects. After discussions with DOT, the state is now using the funding for road construction projects." White House press release, Oct. 8, 2009

"Well, a lot of the stimulus doesn’t hit until tax season -- that's when people get their refunds. And a lot of the so-called shovel-ready projects will actually -- probably see them taper off in the spring." - White House press conference, Dec. 15, 2009

"These broadband awards are what the Recovery Act is all about – not just rescuing the economy by providing immediate job opportunities through shovel-ready projects..." White House press relase, Dec. 16, 2009

There's also:

"Announcing his energy team, Obama beams about 'shovel-ready projects all across the country.' Unveiling his choice for education secretary, Obama plugs his plans 'to start helping states and local governments with shovel-ready projects.'" - The Washington Post, Jan. 8, 2009 "The Obama Buzzword That Hit Pay Dirt"

"The plan includes spending on what Obama called 'shovel-ready' projects to rebuild roads, make buildings energy efficient, modernize schools and upgrade hospital technology." - USA Today, Dec. 8, 2009, "Obama eyes 'shovel-ready' fixes in a long recovery"

And that's just off the first few archived news stories.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

“Accuse your opponents of the very thing you are trying to do.”

Next time you hear Obama try to scare voters with lies about his opponents, keep this in mind: In 2008, 37,000 donations to Obama appeared to be conversions of foreign cuurency, totaling between $12.8 million and $63 million.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Must Read: Nate Silver's "Understanding and Misunderstanding the ‘Enthusiasm Gap’"

Read @fivethirtyeight's article in The New York Times here for optimum edification. But here's the take-home lesson.

In the 1994 midterm election, 32 percent of Democrats told Gallup they were "enthusiastic" about voting. This year it's much higher at 42 percent, a significant improvement that matches the 42 percent of Republicans who were "enthusiastic" in their historic 1994 win.

That would be great news for Dems indicating they will stave off heavy midterm losses, except for this figure. This year, Republican "enthusiasm" to vote has exploded to a record-breaking 59%, eclsipsing Dem enthusiasm by a 17-point margin, another record in Gallup polling.

And if you're not following @fivethirtyeight, you're a goon who hates kittens.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Unemployment rises to 10.1%, Obama pre-election jobs report will not state that

Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 10.1% in September -- up sharply from 9.3% in August and 8.9% in July. Much of this increase came during the second half of the month -- the unemployment rate was 9.4% in mid-September -- and therefore is unlikely to be picked up in the government's unemployment report on Friday.

Read the entire report at Gallup: http://www.gallup.com/poll/143426/Gallup-Finds-Unemployment-September.aspx

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Here are two trendlines I'd like to see...

911 Callers Are a Joke in Broward County
Don't know what day it is? Look at a calender. Don't call 911
By TODD WRIGHT

It appears residents in Broward County have their definitions for "nonsense" and "emergency" mixed up.

According to the Broward Sheriff's Office call center, nearly half the 911 calls they receive are for things not quite a life or death situation - unless you consider a fast food order an emergency...

..."'My toilet's overflowing, what do I do?' That's my personal favorite," BSO Sheriff Al Lamberti said.

While it's a stretch, a busted toilet at least could, conceivably, be considered an emergency. But there is no rationale for the number of calls that sound something like this:

"I ordered chicken nuggets and they don't have chicken nuggets," one woman called 911 to report.

The fast food offenses are usually the most common and often the most annoying because people think it's really an emergency worthy of 911, one operator said.

"Screaming in my ear, 'I wanted the sausage, and he gave me the burrito!'" April McGill recalls from one call. "She's trying to force me to eat something off the menu that I don't want!"

The penal code hasn't quite addressed customer service in the fast food industry, but that hasn't stopped Broward residents from picking up the phone and calling the police. People have asked for police escorts, rides to the liquor store and instructions on how to make meatballs.

One woman even called to ask what day it was....

Unsurprisingly, Obama got 67 percent of the vote in Broward County.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Western Tradition Partnership: In the news again

Conservatives: ‘You’re fired’
Mailing makes Sen. Schwartz look like Trump; Schwartz is ‘disgusted’
Peter Marcus, DDN Staff Writer
Monday, October 4, 2010

It’s certainly not the most flattering image.

Incumbent State Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, is being portrayed by conservatives as the next Donald Trump. “You’re fired!” states a mailing going out to voters in the Colorado 5th Senate District. The front of the mailing: a photo of Schwartz’s face with the body and trademark hair of Trump Photoshopped into the image.

The argument by the conservative Denver-based Western Tradition Partnership, which is responsible for the mailing and has a national arm extending to Washington, D.C., is that Schwartz’s co-sponsorship of a measure this year that raised the state’s renewable energy standard will result in Colorado residents losing jobs. The group also argues that the higher renewable energy standard — 30 percent by 2020 — will raise utility costs.

“Gail Schwartz has two words for Coloradans — ‘you’re fired,’” said Donald Ferguson, executive director of the Western Tradition Partnership. “Her energy tax forcing utility companies to buy more expensive electricity eliminates jobs by increasing utility bills.”

The Western Tradition Partnership, which often directly attacks the renewable energy industry, argues that the higher renewable energy standard panders to “politically-connected, higher-priced ‘green’ speculators.”

“Not only does her special interest energy tax jack up your utility bills, studies show ‘green’ energy destroys 2.2 jobs for every job she claims it creates,” states the mailing. “Thousands of Coloradans — like you — will lose their jobs under Gail Schwartz’s energy tax.”...

Go to http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=10186 to read the entire article, including a deranged rant by Senator Schwartz in which she attacks the thousands of Coloradans who support us as not being part of the state.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Liberals try to spin "One Nation" vs. Beck photos, crash and burn

After months of building up the "One Nation" rally as something that would be bigger than the Aug. 28 and Sept. 12 conservative rallies on the National Mall, liberals are fuming over these aerial photos of both the "8/28" and "One Nation" events showing the liberal rally was only a fraction the size of the conservative one.

They claim their event was as large as Beck's (after promising it would be bigger) and insist the photo showing what appears to be embarassingly poor turnout was taken in the morning, before the event kicked off.

However...

If you look at the shadows in the 10/2 photo they point north, meaning the sun was in the south when the photo was taken. In D.C. that happens around 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

According their own schedule, they were already at least halfway into their program when the photo was apparently taken.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Tancredo gaining in Colorado governor's race

The new Fox News poll of the Colorado gubernatorial race shows Democratic Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper continuing to lead the race, thanks to a split conservative vote between the gaffe-prone Republican nominee Dan Maes and Constitution Party nominee Tom Tancredo, a former Republican Congressman. Furthermore, Tancredo has for the moment definitely overtaken Maes as the alternative to the Dem.

The numbers: Hickenlooper 44%, Tancredo 34%, and Maes at only 15%. The survey of likely voters has a ±3% margin of error.

Amazing. Hickenlooper is dead in the water, stuck at mid-forties for weeks now. Tancredo is gaining rapidly.

It's still Hickenlooper's to lose, but Tancredo has an outside shot at pulling this off.

And if Maes continues to plummet and falls below 10%, I believe Republicans would be classified under Colorado election law as a "minor party" until the next election.

Reminds me of the 2004 Virginia Beach mayoral election (biggest city in the Commonwealth.) Democrat won with 49%, Libertarian got 43%, Republican got 6%.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Sound familiar?

Obama says Fox News 'destructive' for U.S. growth
Vancouver Sun, Sept. 28, 2010

President Barack Obama on Tuesday called Fox News Network "ultimately destructive for the long-term growth" of the United States, reopening a long-running feud with the conservative cable network that has led the U.S. conservative media's opposition to his administration.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Obama accused Australian-born Rupert Murdoch, Fox's chairman and chief executive, of being more concerned about profits than the well-being of the United States...

..."It's a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world.

Sound familiar?

Chavez Declares War on Opposition Media in Venezuela
Fox News, Mar. 4, 2009

CARACAS, Venezuela — As politicians in the U.S. discuss bringing back the so-called Fairness Doctrine, which would compel radio and TV stations to present both sides of any controversial issue, the question in Venezuela is far more serious: whether there can be more than one side — Hugo Chavez's side — that gets aired about anything.

Addressing the nation on his weekly television show on Sunday, the Venezuelan president laid out plans for his next crusade, ordering his governors and mayors to draw up a "map of the media war" to determine which media are "in the hands of the oligarchy."

Chavez said that "if it weren't for the attack, the lies, manipulation and the exaggeration" of the private media networks, the Venezuelan government would have the support of at least 80 percent of the population...

...Chavez frequently criticizes opposition-aligned television stations and newspapers, at times holding up copies of the papers during public addresses to ridicule articles that criticize him.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

A delightful snippet of Texas history...

..from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission:

"In October 1916, he [Governor Jim Ferguson] had declared war on the University of Texas, showing up at a meeting of the UT Board of Regents to demand the firing of several professors he deemed personally objectionable. Ferguson gleefully promised 'the biggest bear fight that has ever taken place in the history of the state of Texas.'

"Ferguson considered the university an elitist institution that took money away from the 'country boys' at rural schools and at Texas Agricultural & Mechanical College (Texas A&M)...In June he vetoed the entire legislative appropriation for the university."

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Alan Grayson: The most disgusting man in Washington

Alan Grayson is mentally ill.

He's running an ad accusing Daniel Webster of being a draft dodger during the Vietnam War who "refused the call to service." FactCheck.org notes the very documents Grayson provided show "Webster reported for a military examination as soon as he graduated from college, only to be disqualified on medical grounds."

FactCheck.org rates Grayson's ad as "one of the nastiest we have seen so far this year, and it’s false." They also point out Grayson himself refused to enlist in the military.


http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com

Kerry: Voters are angry because they're dumb

From the Sept. 25, 2010 Boston Herald:

A testy U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday blamed clueless voters with short attention spans for the uphill battle beleaguered Democrats are facing against Republicans across the nation.

“We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening,” Kerry told reporters after touring the Boston Medical Center yesterday. [DF notes: And apparently missing the irony of using that slur to defend a man whose entire campaign was the focus-grouped tagline"Hope and Change."

You have to thank Senator Kerry for once again exposing the core tenet of liberalism -- the belief your fellow man is too ignorant to be capable of self-governance.

That's why he needs the government to tell him what to eat, what to drive and what light bulb to use. That's why doctors need the government to tell them what drugs and treatments to prescribe. That's why banks need the government to tell them who to loan to. That's why automakers need government to tell them what cars to make.

In short, liberalism is the belief you, the liberal, are an intellectually and morally superior being with the duty to make decisions on behalf of a population of cattle who, as Senator Kerry puts it, "doesn't always pay that much attention to what’s going on...(and) are influenced by a simple slogan."

It's a Doctrine of Arrogance, and one that Senator Kerry and Barack Obama are shamelessly imposing on a populace much smarter than they, and who will make a much smarter decision on Nov. 2.

http://DonnyFerguson.blogspot.com