Snapped Shot

Rick Sincere reminds us that today was the 390th birthday of the oldest standing legislature in the entire United States--

On July 30th, 1619, a group of Virginia's finest met at the Jamestown church and began something that we can all proudly refer to as the birth of the American form of representative government.

In case you haven't read it, I highly recommend Warren Billings' Little Parliament: The Virginia General Assembly in the Seventeenth Century as a truly fascinating look at the early politics surrounding how the government of our Commonwealth ended up the way it did.

If this isn't the freaky-deakyest wallpaper I've ever seen, I don't know what is.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrives to greet his Greek counterpart Carolos Papoulias (not seen) at Al-Shaab Palace in Damascus on June 24, 2009. Papoulias is on an official visit to Syria. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images)

How bout you out there in Snapped Shot Land? You guys seen any wallpaper worse than this monstrosity?

I'm thinking anything from the 70's would barely qualify. The 60's, on the other hand, might be a different story entirely.

Thanks to the AFP's Louai Beshara for the laugh.

If nothing else, Mr. Saveylev seems to know exactly how to run an airline:

Is not problem, comrades.

Aeroflot, the Russian airline that evokes images of terrible food, rickety planes and indifferent service, has announced it will renew its fleet in an attempt to drag the brand into the 21st Century.

But along with the goals of improving service and safety comes one that could offend some passengers. The airline plans to make its female flight attendants more attractive.

Vitaly Savelyev, the company's new CEO, said all new stewardesses would be "very striking, very eye-catching girls", who would not exceed Russian size 48 – roughly a British size 12, the Independent reports.

When we flew Aeroflot a few years back, my two biggest memories were sitting in a seat that would not lock into the upright position (causing many problems for the poor sap seated behind me), and a pilot who looked only marginally less than tipsy.

So, given that, I'd say this is exactly the direction that Aeroflot needs to be moving in. Every single part of the plane could fly out of the window in the middle of the flight, but not a single person will notice.

And here some people thought that this "reform" package was just to ... add options.

Could the real and sole purpose of the "ObamaCare", as right-wing bloggers like to call it, be purely for providing free and unfettered health care for non-citizens?

Could this be just another tactic towards amnesty?

(It certainly does not benefit those who would be paying for it)



(H/T To Caoilfhionn1)

[Update:] Tim Graham over at NewsBusters.org finds a news item from Britain that notes how their health care micro-managers have nearly eliminated anti-inflammatory injections for lower-back pain sufferers. Rationing anyone? Oh sure, you can still get it from private doctors. But yeah, that will cost ya. And cost ya big.

Yeah. Rationing could never happen here. Even if it is just the information about prescription drugs presented on television ads.

Sometimes there is a moment that blossoms and grows to become a world-changing movement in history. The idea of freedom and liberty as the foundation of the United States was like that. The other was the uniting of our people's behind the battle of our time to defeat Japanese imperialism and Fascism.

Could this be the next best movement to begin? Could this movement of ideas and standards be something that can grow and be a key moment in history? A moment changer?

Only if people take a stand.

Together.

Again.

There only comes a few moments in history when people can stand up and change their paths in life. Their country's stand.

Will you stand?

... and the media dutifully reports it as factual news.

The news shows The One Pres Obamassiah (pbuh) going around trying to build support for his bill that will nationalize the American way of health care. Amazingly enough, he is hyping his own report as a factual reason to support the reason for his bill.

President Barack Obama, citing a new White House study suggesting that small businesses pay far more per employee for health insurance than big companies, said Saturday the disparity is "unsustainable — it's unacceptable."

"And it's going to change when I sign health insurance reform into law," the president said in his weekly Internet and radio address.

Oh yeah, I am sure it will. They will drop their employer-subsidized health coverage for their employees. Why spend that money when the government will force the people to do it for them.

Obama, who never worked a real day in his life makes it obvious that he has no clue how the business world operates. OF COURSE small businesses pay different amounts for their health coverage than large businesses. That is a fact of commerce and spending power.

Large companies can utilize their size, employee base, longevity and spending power to make agreements and contracts to increase their purchasing power. They have the ability to seek cheaper alternatives or better pricing structure for whatever they need in order to conduct their business. Continue reading »

And the CHANGE continues. But then, he did promise favorable treatment of illegal criminals during the 2008 Presidential campaign. The change is that another leader and protector of the laws of this nation, within the Executive Branch of our government, has once again decided to ignore and operate against the laws of the US Constitution.

The Department of Homeland Security said it was revising a program that authorized local police to enforce federal immigration law — a controversial aspect of U.S. border policy.

Opponents said the program, known as 287g, was intended to identify criminal aliens but instead has led to racial profiling; it allowed local police to identify and arrest illegal immigrants for such minor infractions as a broken tail light. Program supporters said it has been an effective tool for combating illegal immigration.

Heaven forbid police pull people over for breaking the law!!! Only to have it found out that they were also violating federal laws, and possibly numerous other state and local laws as well. We can't have that now can we?
Continue reading »

CRAP!!!

I was writing up this really nice piece about the nation's true unemployment numbers when I accidentally lost all my work.

So, instead of trying to rewrite everything, I think I will just post links to everything and see if you can get the gist.

I recently showed you how Obama has overseen the loss of 3.5 million jobs since January. June unemployment numbers fell another 467,000. That means nearly 4 million people out of full-time work since Obama took office.

His stimulus bill should be revised. Instead of creating or saving 3.5 million jobs, it needs to be correctly edited to state, ".. will lose or destroy 3.5 million jobs.."

Remember, this bill is working as intended.

However, that index does not count the underemployed. When you factor in the underemployed, total underemployed could reach 16.5%. And the economy is not going to get any better any time soon.

Michigan has now approached 15.2% regular unemployment.
Things look much worse when you look at individual metropolitan areas.

Obama's own numbers tell us a story. CBO estimates that the $787 Billion stimulus bill will actually cost us $838 Billion over an 11 year period. And according to that report, this stimulus bill is not even expected to create or increase revenue.

Meanwhile, his budget deficit will swell towards $2 Trillion dollars by the end of this year with the National Debt load upon every American citizen will now approach $11 Trillion dollars. That equals nearly $37,000 in tax burden for every man, woman, child and illegal in this nation right now. Now, if you only count that portion of the population that actually pays taxes, say about a third, then their tax burden now goes up to $110,000.

So, it is a good thing that the rich are the ones that are left paying the tab. 'Cause when it comes to paying that debt load or hiring someone to fill a job.... guess which decision wins out.

And don't expect the unemployment picture to get any better now that the Federal Minimum Wage is going to JUMP to $7.25 in the next few days. Good Idea!! Let's put more stumbling blocks to reducing unemployment. How's that living wage working for ya?

Oh yeah, and don't forget the new taxes to pay for all this stimulus, health care and bailout expenditures.

Welcome to Obama's world.

How's that hope and change working for out for you?

A happy Tuesday chuckle to y'all, courtesy our good friends over at TNOYF, the creators of other fine Mohammed Brand products:

In our first effort to expand the scope of this site, allow me to present our newest feature: Photo Fun! I'm going through the newswires for today, and pulling the best (and worst) pictures of the day, and will be chronicling them below for fun and profit (profit not included).

But enough about that. Let's get on with the links!

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Ghost riding done right. Maybe there are a few too many backseat drivers in this particular case...

South Korean special police force personnel jump over a vehicle during an anti-terrorism drill against possible attack from North Korea and other crimes at their training camp in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 2, 2009. A North Korean ship monitored for more than a week by the U.S. Navy has changed course and is heading back the way it came, U.S. officials said, as Pyongyang warned Wednesday it will take military action if anyone attempts to search its vessels. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Continue reading »

There was an interesting paragraph from that first $787 Stimulus bill.

* Double renewable energy generating capacity over three years.
It took 30 years to reach current levels of renewable energy production. This package will double that level over the next three years – enough to power 6 million American homes.

So, according to the President of the United States, this stimulus bill will double the number of homes powered by renewable energy to 6 million homes. Which means that 3 million homes are powered now through alternative energies.

Wow, that is an amazing number. Over the entire United States, an astounding 3 million homes are powered?!? That would equal about half of the state of Texas. WOW.

And now, he wants to increase taxes to pay for subsidies and institute mandates to double that number in order to power almost all of Texas' homes. Wonderful. I feel all warm and fuzzy.

And all of that will take no more than 3 years? Yeah. Tell that to T. Boone Pickens. Mr. Pickens is currently seeking federal funds to bail out his losses so that he won't lose any of his own money in his failed wind farm dreamland.
Continue reading »

Scott over at PowerLine blog has been doing some bang-up work lately. Of recent note, they have invited Professor Paul Rahe, who holds the Charles O. Lee and Louise K. Lee Chair in the Western Heritage at Hillsdale College, to write a series of articles of how he sees the changes this nation has undergone and its effects upon our liberties and freedoms.

From his posts:
Here is his piece on "Obama's Tyrannical Ambition" related to his push for nationalized health care.

Here is his two part series on America's slow and calculated move towards Despotism, here and here.

Here is his earlier pieces on the Democrat's love affair and addiction to the confiscation of freedoms, here and here.

A bit from one of his articles:

One year later, 1913, the dam broke. The 16th and 17th amendments to the Constitution were ratified, and the chief obstacles in the way of a massive expansion of the administrative state were removed.

The first of these amendments legalized the federal income tax, making it possible for the federal government to fund its own expansion. The second provided for the direct election of senators, denying to the state legislatures, which had performed this function under the constitution framed in 1787, a check on federal encroachment.

Mores and manners change slowly. What these amendments made possible has only gradually been realized. But step by step - in an experimental fashion during World War I, then with an eye to permanence under the New Deal - the administrative state began extending its tentacles into every corner of American life, threatening to regulate everything that we do and to direct us in every action of our lives.

To get a sense of what the project involves, one need only read the message that Franklin Delano Roosevelt sent to Congress in 1944, wherein he asserted that the vision which had informed the American founding was an anachronism and then set out to redefine our rights
...
Since January, 1944, we have generally drifted and occasionally lurched in the direction FDR outlined. At each stage, local governments have ceded responsibilities to the central administration, and, thanks to unfunded and partially funded mandates, these governments have gradually become instruments deployed by the central administration.

I meant to post this little snippet of the awesome show we went to in Baltimore last night, but I've been swamped with work all day. So, without further ado, here's VAMPS, horsing around with their guitars during the intro to "Midnight Celebration." (Not that you can really hear anything through my horrific microphone, of course...)



Better late than never, I say.

Anyway, I'm going to be cramming for a final all weekend, so I'll be seeing y'all around. Hope you and yours have an excellent time! Continue reading »

Featuring James Lafferty of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force:



(Thanks to IBA for the vid link)