Time Is Up

It is time to admit that Mr. Obama's economic theories just...don't....work.

What slays me is that before the first stimulus bill was passed in 2009, the CBO stated that the economy would recover on its own by the end of the year.  The continuing string of "unexpected" increases in unemployment as well as the Democrats serial inability to accurately predict the outcome of their initiatives underscores the fact that we are better off leaving the economy alone instead of trying to "tweak" it further.

The continual addition of new regulations, the health care bill, and threats of higher taxes only serve to discourage employers from hiring folks that want to work.  If Congress and the President continue to make it more expensive for employers to hire workers, then employers will continue to not hire workers.

It is just that simple.

My Most Famous Reader

I am just pleased as punch to announce that Michelle Obama is an LAAC reader!  If you check the spinning globe at the bottom of the page, you will note a purple dot in southern Spain that appeared recently.

That must be her!

Like I said, pleased....as....punch!

Regulate Actions....Or Regulate Things

Some wisdom from Robb Allen at Sharp As A Marble....

I'm still of the belief that attempting to regulate things rather than setting punishments for specific behavior [is] idiocy. Things can be created from scratch, and the doohickey the law focuses so intently on can be modified so that my thing doesn't exactly match the definition of the legal thing and therefor isn't really a thing per-se.


Mowing down a bunch of blind orphans on a field trip to the art museum though? That's a behavior that's easy to identify, isolate, and punish for. Trying to decide if the particular paint job or threaded doodad on the firearm wasn't documented properly is not only harder to do, it has no bearing on the action of the individual.

A little editing from me.  Great thoughts from Robb.

More Energy From More Technology

An idea was recently floated that we might be able to reduce our energy bill by storing excess power from low power consumption periods and then using it during peak consumption periods.  The essential imbalance is the result of coal plants only being able to run wide open.  If you only need half of that power, then you are wasting the other half.

Michigan has a plant that pumps water into a reservoir out of Lake Michigan during times of low power consumption.  The excess power is used to move the water "up hill".  Then during high power usage, the water is allowed to flow back into the lake via a set of hydro-electric generators.

The new concept was to use the excess energy to create and maintain liquid oxygen.  Knowing a bit of LOX, I know that this approach would have some serious power loss issues to deal with.

At the same time, it may prove to be economically viable.  Who knows what the future holds.

And it doesn't require a Lake Michigan to be located next to every power plant either.

Newsflash - Glenn Beck Sane

At least for a moment or two.  He discussed the recent ruling regarding gay marriage with Bill O'Reilly.

And apparently, he isn't bothered by the idea of gay couples marrying.

So we agree there.

Apparently, that wasn't always the case.

Glenn also believes that our country's slide began with the 'progressive movement' and Woodrow Wilson.  If he includes the Income Tax, the popular election of US Senators, and banning opium, cocaine, and marijuana, then I'd have to agree.

Sadly, he believes there is some sort of 'conspiracy' involved.  And thus any modicum of agreement dies an early death.

I know that Glenn is a big fan of former President Calvin Coolidge.  As am I.  So we're back on again!

In any case, I find it interesting that Glenn Beck isn't terribly concerned about gay marriage.

Mosque-ow On The Hudson

I still maintain misgivings about the proposed project that would place a mosque and "Islamic center" a couple blocks of the World Trade Center site.  Originally, I was concerned that the project was really intended to provide a stealth victory for more radical Islamic elements.  Most of that concern was based on a few episodes where the front man for the project, Feisal Abdul Rauf, had made statements in the Arabic press and other non-US venues that suggested that he was less than supportive of a multi-cultural, multi-religious society than his US and English based pronouncements would suggest.

Arab Muslim leaders are known for offering an opinion that is palatable to the west when speaking to western audiences or western media while simultaneously saying something far more dire in the Arabic press or to Arab audiences. 

I am a little less skeptical regarding the project upon reading this item by David Frum that suggests that while Mr. Rauf may be the front man for the project, the real driving force may be the money men that need to raise enough capital to purchase some of the land required for the project.

The mosque developers are three Arab-American businessmen: Sharif and Sammy el-Gamal and Nour Moussa. They have a partner in Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Muslim writer and publicist who does most of the talking. But the money and credit pledged to the project belong to the company owned by Moussa and the el-Gamals, Soho Properties.


Soho Properties has paid some $5 million in cash to buy the Burlington Coat Factory building, a building that yields no income. They are paying rent to hold rights to the Con Ed building, which also yields no income. All of this in the midst of the worst commercial property slump in memory, in an area of New York with a very uncertain economic future. And these are not super-rich guys: Sharif el-Gamal lives in an Upper West Side apartment purchased in 2007 for $1 million.


.....


You can see why the Gamal-Moussa team would be dazzled by the notion that philanthropists in the Persian Gulf might donate $100 million to raise a grand gleaming Islamic center in lower Manhattan. You can tuck a lot of development fees into a $100 million project. And if not a mosque … what else do you do with their two loser properties on Park Place?

Still, the presumption that they could build a mosque so close to the World Trade Center site and purposefully hold the "grand opening" or "dedication" or whatever on September 11th is particularly galling.  Perhaps these gentlemen are simply tone deaf.  While this group may be businessmen focused on making a profit using a moderate religious front man to generate funding, the more radical elements of Islam will perceive the opening of a mosque located near the World Trade Center site on September 11th as a huge victory for their version of Islam.  Their perception will be unaffected by the intentions or actions of the group that has proposed the project.

Of course, this entire episode has spawned a round of imagining tasteless construction projects.  My personal example would be locating a USO office across the street from Peace Park in Hiroshima, Japan.

Greg Gutfeld is supposedly moving forward with a real construction project to be located close to the Cordoba House project that is equally tasteless; a Muslim gay bar complete with alcohol and non-alcohol serving areas [located next to the Cordoba House project].

Naturally that project has spawned yet another round of verbal fireballs being tossed back and forth.  It has also yielded this little bit of wisdom from the folks behind Cordoba House.

You’re free to open whatever you like. If you won’t consider the sensibilities of Muslims, you’re not going to build dialog

And the sensibilities of New Yorkers when it comes to the location of a certain new mosque?

Well the irony certainly is thick these days.  You can almost cut it with a knife.

Why He Connected

Mr. Bush really connected with the military.  He also connected with other groups in the country.

And this is part of how he did it....

Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, made a surprise visit to U.S. troops this afternoon.

They showed up at the USO in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. There they mingled with the returning soldiers, thanked them, chatted and posed for photos as proof of the unexpected encounter for folks back home.

The USO just posted an assortment of the photos on its Facebook page, which quickly drew a growing list of appreciative comments.

His other qualities aside, you knew where he stood when it came to supporting our military and their mission to defend our country and our freedom.

Liberty Expands Again

There once was a time when blacks were considered less than whites.  All sorts of rules and laws were passed to make sure that they never forgot "their place".

Our definition of liberty expanded.

There once was a time when women were little more than a man's property; to be treated as men saw fit and allowed to occupy roles in society as men saw fit to allow.

Our definition of liberty expanded.

Our definition of liberty has expanded yet again.  Freedom works each and every time it is tried.

The fate of gay and lesbian couples who want to wed in California is now in the hands of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has less than a week to decide whether to block the enforcement of a federal judge's historic toppling of Proposition 8.


The matter was kicked upstairs to the Ninth Circuit court by Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who last week said the state's ban on same-sex marriage was discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Today, Walker lifted a temporary stay he had placed on those nuptials, but simultaneously ruled that his order not take effect until 5 p.m. Wednesday.

 Let freedom ring!  The Constitution has won again.

Guess That Party!

One game that gets played frequently is "Guess That Party".  When reviewing the news about a politician screwing up criminally, I usually check to see if their party affiliation is ever mentioned.  When it is mentioned, there is a better than 80-90% chance that the politician is a Republican.  When it isn't mentioned, the odds drop down into the 10-20% range.

Kind of funny how that works, isn't it?

And Ace explains how it all works.

Political Correctness Run Amok

Ahem...

Take heed, America. The next time you visit Washington, D.C., feel free to stand in awe of the monuments to our greatest leaders, but do not — DO NOT — sing the National Anthem at the Lincoln Memorial. It turns out that doing so is a violation of federal law.

Perhaps we need to start laying off federal parks employees until they regain their sanity.

Steelin' Yer Time...Fer No Gud Reeson

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