Snapped Shot

Leave it to Tony Rogers to put a full and truthful explanation to the reason why Islam is so angry.

Love For Their Kids.

Meanwhile, could this explain the recent rash of salmonella infections? Sorry, bad pun.

You know, many of us on the "right" side of the political belief system here in America have been bemoaning and fearing the move toward Socialism especially in light of our most recent selection election of a Marxist Socialist administration.

But, have we not already been moving in that direction for a very long time?
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You know, the funny thing is that it's the exact same pattern we've seen here in Virginia—Almost all of our Commonwealth was farmland back at the beginning of the 20th century, but with the onset of urbanization over the past 100 years, most of it has reverted to being "old" forests.

CHILIBRE, Panama — The land where Marta Ortega de Wing raised hundreds of pigs until 10 years ago is being overtaken by galloping jungle — palms, lizards and ants.

Instead of farming, she now shops at the supermarket and her grown children and grandchildren live in places like Panama City and New York.

Here, and in other tropical countries around the world, small holdings like Ms. Ortega de Wing’s — and much larger swaths of farmland — are reverting to nature, as people abandon their land and move to the cities in search of better livings

Of course, we were never fed information like this from our eco-zealous media. Nor did we hear much about it from our "natural" history museums. Any guesses why?

“Biologists were ignoring these huge population trends and acting as if only original forest has conservation value, and that’s just wrong,” said Joe Wright, a senior scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute here, who set off a firestorm two years ago by suggesting that the new forests could substantially compensate for rain forest destruction.

And here I thought "science" meant investigating all of the facts on their merits alone. How much more convenient it is when used as a tool for left-leaning cash extortion.

(h/t Lawhawk)

To all of you who've considered getting hype-rids (oops, make that "hybrids"), please be sure to check this out:

... while battery technology has traveled far from the big clunkers in the late 1990s, the costs and limits of current batteries remain the biggest obstacles to mass marketing plug-in vehicles. Although nearly every major auto company is moving ahead with electric car plans, the batteries still cost about $8,000 or more each, experts estimate, and that could make electric cars money-losers. Moreover, electric carmakers warn, the industry's manufacturing capacity is limited, and few factories are in the United States.

No matter how much environmentalists may try, they still can't seem to defeat Newton's Dastardly Laws Of Physics.

Funny, that.

(h/t Prairie Pundit)

The government of the USSR made it a point to dictate every minutiae of manufacturing policy to "companies" all across Russia. For instance, as one of my engineering friends described to me once, cigarettes in Soviet Russia for some reason just happened to be the exact same size as bullets. This, of course, was no accident—It was the official policy that machines which make cigarettes should be able to be converted into bullet-manufacturing purposes if and when the Soviet government decided that it needed more bullets.

Considering that all companies in Russia just happened to be owned by the Soviet government, this is almost understandable.

What is not understandable is how the New Soviet Government, seated on Capitol Hill, thinks that it can dictate to American industry in the same manner—without going through such "nit-picking" issues like "property ownership" and the like:

Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Oppose S. 247 and H.R. 520
SEMA ( Specialty Equipment Market Association) is opposing an effort by some Washington lawmakers to include a national car crushing program in the upcoming economic stimulus package. Vehicles targeted for the scrap pile will likely include Chevy Blazers, Silverados, S-10s and Tahoes; Dodge Dakotas and Rams; Ford Explorers and F-Series; Jeep Cherokees and Wranglers; and any other SUV or truck that obtains less than 18 mpg.

The so-called “Accelerated Retirement of Inefficient [read: anti-Soviet] Vehicles Act” is "Cash for Clunkers" with a twist. Instead of focusing exclusively on old cars as is typical with scrappage programs, this bill will target any vehicle with lower fuel-economy ratings. Participants will receive a cash voucher to purchase a more fuel-efficient new car or used car (model year 2004 or later) or receive credit for the purchase of public transportation tickets.

Under the legislation, “fuel efficient” means at least 25% better mileage than the CAFE standard. It will be illegal to resell the scrapped vehicles. Bill sponsors want to destroy 4 million pickups and SUVs over the next four years.

If Americans are stupid enough to allow the government to dictate policies like this to "private" companies, Americans shouldn't be surprised when the government begins dictating policies to us.

God help us.

(h/t Gateway Pundit)

The Obama Administration has just issued an order declaring that federal contractors are "encouraged" to carry over employees when contracts get changed:

The Federal Government's procurement interests in economy and efficiency are served when the successor contractor hires the predecessor's employees. A carryover work force reduces disruption to the delivery of services during the period of transition between contractors and provides the Federal Government the benefits of an experienced and trained work force that is familiar with the Federal Government's personnel, facilities, and requirements.

...

It is the policy of the Federal Government that service contracts and solicitations for such contracts shall include a clause that requires the contractor, and its subcontractors, under a contract that succeeds a contract for performance of the same or similar services at the same location, to offer those employees (other than managerial and supervisory employees) employed under the predecessor contract whose employment will be terminated as a result of the award of the successor contract, a right of first refusal of employment under the contract in positions for which they are qualified.

Under this act, if my employer were to be replaced by another contractor on one of the projects we're working on, the new contracting firm would be obligated to try and steal me from my current employer. This activity, unofficially known as "employee poaching," does happen from time to time in the contracting world. The idea is that if the employees on site already know the systems in place, the new contractor will have a better time getting to learn it.

The two problems with this, of course, are that (a) it's not exactly a "seamless" process to replace the entire management structure on the contract with new managers, and (b) it's generally considered harmful to the contracting firm from which the employees were poached. So if Northrop Grumman were to pick up a contract I was on, and they poached me to continue the contract, the company I work for would (theoretically, in my case) be harmed by my loss.

Which, of course, injects a whole lot of instability into the world of Federal Contracting.

One has to wonder if that's not exactly what these benighted buffoons are trying to do.

(h/t Jessica's Well)

Cato the Elder (234 BC - 149 BC) once said: "After I'm dead I'd rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one."

I wonder if Hussein Obama has ever had a moment of humility to consider the same as schools make a useless change in his name:

Barack Obama took office barely 10 days ago, but already schools and streets are being renamed. In the Hempstead case they didn't even wait until Inauguration Day, re-christening the school back in November -- the first in the nation to do so.

For the students, it's music to their ears, gushed school principal Jean Bligen.

They "want to keep this interest, this high belief that we can really make a difference, that we can change our community, that we can change our nation, that we can make the world a better place," Bligen said.

...Or something like that...

The Gateway Pundit brings us this delightful snapshot:



Elder of Ziyon translates the caption from Palestine Today:

According to Palestine Today, News photographer Abdul Rahman Al-Khatib received medium-degree burns after he caught fire during coverage of the burning of Israeli and American flags in a march organized by Hamas in Gaza City this afternoon.

Witnesses said the cameraman was covering the demonstration when a masked man poured gasoline on burning Israeli flags. The resulting explosion burned his hands and feet.

Read Protein Wisdom. Read it daily. Hourly, even. You won't regret it, and the entertainment value alone couldn't possibly be measured in currency. (Well, maybe in Zimbabwean dollars.)

Oh, and if you happen to work for some firm that is looking for a good writer, be sure to give Jeff Goldstein a buzz while you're at it. He's exactly the person you're looking for.

Yep. Sure seems like it. So, to pass the time, here are some aspiring rock stars.

Our rejected member of the Muppets seems to have survived the recent "Israeli assault" in the Gaza Strip. From the looks of things, his Israel-hating abilities haven't been impacted in the least, either.

A Palestinian wearing a Turkish flag around his neck shout anti-Israeli slogans during a rally in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip January 30, 2009. President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell said on Friday there would be further setbacks in the search for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA)

Keep on raging, Rage Bear!

What better way to end the week than with a spot of synchronized Caterpillar dancing?



(h/t Theo Spark)

From Drudge: Pelosi Claims She's 'Nonpartisan'...

With the focus on the economic stimulus package shifting to the Senate, the partisan split evident with the Democrat-only passage of the bill in the House last night overshadowed a lot of the discussions on both sides of the aisle today. So much so that various leaders were practically disowning the word bipartisanship as if deadly germs were part of its etymology.

When Mrs. Pelosi was asked whether the vote — 244 to 188 without a single Republican’s approval — represented a failure on her part to advance President Obama’s desire for a broad bipartisan bill, she practically snapped:

“I didn’t come here to be partisan. I didn’t come here to be bipartisan. I came here, as did my colleagues, to be nonpartisan, to work for the American people, to do what is in their interest."

Ummm. What? Anyone want to try and translate this for me?

Whatever you think, at least the Obama-change influence is really having an effect if even Nancy Pelosi can become un-partisan(??).

Meanwhile Master Obama is upset that those who received some of the buyout money paid their CEO's around $20 billion dollars in tax dollar money in bonuses. And this from the Obamassiah that wants over $2 TRILLION of our tax dollars to pay for Democrat pet projects and liberal agendas. Me thinks he protests too much....

It's Slublog for the win, courtesy Ace:



Background here, amongst other places.