NYC walks the road to Detroit

  The election of ultra leftist Bill de Blasio as Mayor of New York was both lauded and excoriated. His politics are so far left even the Leftist New York Times notes, like a cat lapping up a bowl of cream, that he's only appointing Leftist activists to city positions.
  So like Obama whose fantasy budget has never been accepted by even his own party, de Blasio has submitted a budget that speaks more of unicorns than practicality.
  The New York Times decided to report that de Blazio's budget is $73.9 billion which is a 6% increase.
  With few cuts. And no new revenue.
  It includes new spending on housing, on education, on new social services.
  Where the figures don't add up, the NYT delicately refers to the deficit as "gaps," which city officials explain will be handled by "tapping unused reserve funds and by cutting billions of dollars from the cost of union health care plans." It's a bit hard to believe any of those union members are going to accept cuts to their health care. Are they moving them to Obamacare? We'll see.
  From the NYT:

And [the budget] includes a long-term commitment to pay $17.8 billion in compensation, including some retroactive wages, to the city’s labor unions over a period that will stretch into the next decade.

  The budget is balanced this year for de Blasio because Bloomberg left a surplus.
  Starting 2015, NYC will run a deficit.
  So "reserve funds" are not to be held for those darned rainy days, apparently, but rather spent on "retroactive "raises for teachers and city workers and subsidizing more housing.
  Of course, these wage increases are put into effect for the next ten years, including whoever next holds the office and half the next term.
  I'm not a big fan of Christie, but I will never forget the community meeting where he confronted firefighters with the fact that Corzine and his predecessors had repeatedly over promised monies that the state cannot afford, always putting off the responsibility for pensions and salary increases.
  This is typical of administrations cozy with unions: they promise more and more money, better perks in the out years when they won't have to be responsible to make sure those bills are paid.
  From 2009, New York Times:

Bolstered in part by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s spending, the average New York City employee cost the city $107,000 a year in wages, health insurance, pension and other benefits in the 2008 fiscal year, an increase of 63 percent since 2000, according to a new report.

  In 2011, take, for example, Sampson Dwumah, who is a sewage treatment worker in NYC. He makes almost $350,000 a year.
  And he's not the only one. In fact, the top engineer in "Environment Protection" makes almost $800,000 a year in salary and benefits.
  The list is long, available here. And don't forget that's 2011.
  I often think of Bill Clinton's narrowed eye and sly legalese, "It depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is."
  With Leftists, any word, idea or action is relative to whatever he wants it to be.
  Can you say Detroit?

Sequester resulted in ONE job loss

Thanks a lot Congressman Ryan. You negotiated away much of the progress we had made in reducing deficits by virtue of the sequester because as you and Senator Murray explained the cuts were just too harsh. Yes, very harsh. The sequester resulted in the loss of ONE full time federal job. One, Congressman, yes one goddam job. Well done! According to a GAO report that unfortunate soul worked for the U.S. Parole Commission.
Senator Tom Coburn a relentless budget hawk observed;
“Despite relentless warnings about the dire consequences of sequestration’s budget cuts, it appears sequestration resulted in only one layoff,” Coburn said in a statement. “While that’s good news for federal employees and other workers, it is devastating to the credibility of Washington politicians and administration officials who spent months—and millions of dollars—engaging in a coordinated multi-agency cabinet-level public relations campaign to scare the American people.”
Yes and it doesn't make House Republicans look very smart either.
“Taxpayers expect us to root our predictions in fact, not ideology and spin,” Coburn added.
The highly respected Congressional Budget Office which has assured us that Obamacare would cost less than a trillion dollars over ten years had projected 100,000 federal workers would lose their jobs.
Oh well, I guess that's close enough for government work but we can think of some people who need to lose their jobs.

Thousands rally in support of drilling

I would view demonstrations such as this as a healthy sign that the public is going to protect itself from the political class. More than 2,500 gas industry employees rallied in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania yesterday to promote natural gas drilling and oppose a creeping bipartisan effort to impose a severance or extraction tax on natural gas. Supposedly the the revenue from the proposed tax would be used to fund education as if the education sector is starved. Nationally the US spends more per student than any country in the world and receives extremely modest benefits for its money. A tax is a tax, is a tax and if one wants less of a product then tax it. Politicians have no right to expect the companies, land owners, and employees in one industry to pay for a public benefit but this minority will indeed pay the tax either in reduced drilling and employment or lower profits, wages, and lease monies.
Within a few years natural gas will be exported from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. If anything the development of gas and oil extraction industries should be subsidized rather than taxed. Expect John Kasich and Ohio's political class to soon try to the same ploy. After the rich and the poor take their cuts there is little left for the middle class that does the dirty and sometimes dangerous work.

Hillary, who got us overcharged AND reset

  Remember Hillary Clinton's campaign touting that she was the best presidential candidate because of her experience and character?
  That in a crisis, she would be the best leader?
  To keep the children safe, who do you want answering the red phone ringing in the night? 
  Who should be the leader to head the military, to make the touch decisions?

  Well, so we did that. We had Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, in charge of security at American embassies around the world.
  How'd that work out.
  Then let's look at this video recording of Hillary complaining that it was more important to catch the guys who murdered 4 Americans than know why and how they did it.
   Those murderers, of course, are still at large.
  And, yes, she was the one responsible for answering the red phone in the middle of the night but, no, she didn't want to send more security to protect our people before the incident or during and, no, she doesn't care why those murderers murdered our people because what differences does it make, and, yes, it matters to her what the American people think happened, not what really happened.

  Let's recall when Hillary was the one running around the world dissing the Bush administration's foreign policies in Russia, giddily and erroneously demanding that the Obama administration be able to "overcharge" the Russians. 
  Oh, wait. 
  No, that's not right. 
  She wanted to reset the US relationship with Russia. 
  But voila! They've both come true! In Russia and Libya!
  Here we are today, overcharged, our relationship with Russia reset, all traces of the Bush doctrine disappeared! 
  Yes, that mistranslated red button warning has really been a prescient symbol of our future, hasn't it? We've been overcharged and reset.
  If this all seems like old news, it is.
  So why would we want to put an old tire on a vehicle that's headed toward a cliff?
  Eh?
  What else could Hillary reset and overcharge us for?

Speaker Boehner posts Benghazi select committee resolution

Speaker John Boehner released this copy of the House resolution that will establish the select committee on Benghazi. It's noteworthy that the resolution does not include an ending date. It merely states that 30 days after the committee issues its final report it will be disbanded meaning that the investigation can go on indefinitely or until the Congress recesses at year's end. It does allow the committee to issue interim reports as it sees fit.

Benghazi Resolution

Electric grid falters: Obama pushes electric cars

  Who wouldn't have complete confidence in an administration intent on returning us to the days of windmills, the sun and bicycles as primary energy sources and transportation?
  Obama's base doesn't even want Africa to have more fossil fuel energy.
  Though much of the press seems to be absent reporting developments, we learn that yet another so-called green energy company which Obama visited and touted and in which taxpayers have poured millions of dollars has failed.
  (It'd be interesting video to show all Obama's visits to such places, juxtaposed to pictures of their shuttering.)
  This time it's Smith Electric Vehicles.
  Here's a 2012 list of "faltering or bankrupt" green energy companies who've received government funding from The Foundry at Heritage:

1. Evergreen Solar ($25 million)*
2. SpectraWatt ($500,000)*
3. Solyndra ($535 million)*
4. Beacon Power ($43 million)*
5. Nevada Geothermal ($98.5 million)
6. SunPower ($1.2 billion)
7. First Solar ($1.46 billion)
8. Babcock and Brown ($178 million)
9. EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ($118.5 million)*
10. Amonix ($5.9 million)
11. Fisker Automotive ($529 million)
12. Abound Solar ($400 million)*
13. A123 Systems ($279 million)*
14. Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($700,981)*
15. Johnson Controls ($299 million)
16. Brightsource ($1.6 billion)
17. ECOtality ($126.2 million)
18. Raser Technologies ($33 million)*
19. Energy Conversion Devices ($13.3 million)*
20. Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million)*
21. Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million)*
22. Range Fuels ($80 million)*
23. Thompson River Power ($6.5 million)*
24. Stirling Energy Systems ($7 million)*
25. Azure Dynamics ($5.4 million)*
26. GreenVolts ($500,000)
27. Vestas ($50 million)
28. LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($151 million)
29. Nordic Windpower ($16 million)*
30. Navistar ($39 million)
31. Satcon ($3 million)*
32. Konarka Technologies Inc. ($20 million)*
33. Mascoma Corp. ($100 million)

  There's also Fisker and SoloPower. Not to mention Ecotality. In fact, Daily Caller in 2012 wrote that as many as 50 "green" companies are "troubled" and/or bankrupt.
  Breitbart notes that Obama has declared the government "triple its use of renewable resources by 2020:

“Green” energy subsidies benefit the politically connected while harming future generations as hundreds of millions of dollars are added to the country’s debt burden with each green failure. It’s time to end all subsidies—for all energy companies, not just green ones—and let the best technologies win.

  Well, we know how productive wind and solar have been so far, our country littered with dead windfarms, noise pollution and dead birds.
  And, hm, all these electric vehicles in the pipeline, being underwritten and pushed by the government.
  Yet 89% of coal fired plants that supply electricity are set to go offline in 6 months.
  Obama promised he would drive up the price of energy, particularly coal. He said, "So if somebody wants to build a coal-fired plant they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them…”
– Barack Obama speaking to San Francisco Chronicle, January 2008
  In fact, this is exactly what Obama has intended; the closure of energy supplying coal plants is going full force. You can read much more here.
  My question is this: how foolish is it to push more plug in only electric vehicles when our nation's electrical grid can barely provide the necessities now?
  Again, this last winter was difficult and there's concern that, given another such winter, there could be massive power outages around the country.
  As always, these people live in a fantasy world, bereft of practical thinking and validation that their fanciful ideas have any merit in an increasingly dangerous world.

Trey Gowdy could subpoena Obama

Congressman Trey Gowdy may have the power to subpoena Obama himself. That is the opinion of Fox's Judge Andrew Napolitano. Those of us old enough to remember the Watergate hearings remember that the Senate took its case to court and won. Nixon was compelled not only to turn over his visitor logs but also the famous White House tapes with the missing 18 minutes of conversation.

GOP holds largest lead in decades

As readers can see from the above graphic support for Republicans in the generic congressional vote presently exceeds that of 2010 when the GOP picked up 63 house seats. In fact the GOP has not enjoyed this level of support in over two decades. Pew cites two reasons; Obama's personal dismal poll ratings and the unaffordable Obamacare.
Same again, sir? No thank you. By a margin of more than 2-1, 65%-30%, Americans say they want the president elected in 2016 to pursue different policies and programs than the Obama administration, rather than similar ones.
To add further perspective to this poll when Newt Gingrich and the GOP ousted the Democrats from the House in 1994 Republicans trailed in this poll 45% to 47%.
 

Joni Ernst-Straight Shooter

I think we are going to like this woman. Joni Ernst has moved to the top of the crowded GOP field despite being outspent by Mark Jacobs by a 10 to 1 ratio. Jacobs out raised Ernst by a mere $36,000 in contributions from individual donors but put $1 million of his own money in the race. Her is Joni's latest ad and like her first ad where she boasted that she grew up castrating hogs it rocks.

Hooray for Congressman Trey Gowdy

Finally speaker John Boehner has done something right! By naming Rep. Trey Gowdy to chair the select committee the Speaker has assured the country that the select panel will be both competent and professional. Gowdy is a pit bull disguised as a southern gentleman. But he is indeed a gentleman of the old school, an era where men prided themselves on their deportment rather than their churlishness. In a July 6 2011 post at the New Republic Kara Brandeisky quoted the very partisan Washington Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

But when I later asked Norton about the Republican who is actually in charge of the subcommittee that oversees the District of Columbia—a South Carolina freshman named Trey Gowdy—she had gentler words. His colleagues may be impossible, but Gowdy, according to Norton, is an honest “gentleman.” “I so appreciate his attitude, which is very different from [the other Republicans],” she told me. Mayor Gray agreed in an email, calling Gowdy “open and honest.” This begs an obvious question: If the Republican leadership is provoking so much ire among D.C. autonomy activists, what exactly is this Tea Party congressman doing right? Norton and Gray, of course, might be couching their words because, whether they like it or not, Gowdy is the man to whom they must plead the District’s case. But as it turns out, there’s good evidence that their opinions of the congressman are more than empty flattery, as Gowdy’s done more than a few things to indicate he’s not all bad for D.C.

No one expects accolades as such to be heard once the committee gets down to the serious business of investigation but Gowdy at least starts with bipartisan respect if not infatuation. As for competence one would be hard pressed to find a better fit. The congressman from South Carolina has been both a local prosecutor and US attorney. At Hot Air Allahpundit notes that Gowdy appeared in an old episode of HLN's Forensic Files talking about a case he won. I can do that one better. Trey Gowdy twice appeared on the Forensic Files talking about two cases he won.
The House Democrats have begun singing the same old song we heard about the IRS scandal. It's a witch hunt. It has already been investigated by two committees never mind they could never get the documentation they subpoenaed. Many state they will not serve on the committee if asked. Fine! The country can endure without hearing another whining syllable from the likes of Elijah Cummings.
For the first time in 6 years at least part of the country is in the very best hands.

Does Boehner really want to investigate Benghazi?

The Ben Rhodes email has brought the Benghazi raid and the infamous talking points revisions back into the news with a vengeance. On whom that vengeance is visited is yet to be known but it could rain fire and brimstone on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue if the public begins to believe it has been deceived by a bipartisan conspiracy. Everyone suspects, both Democrats and Republicans, that Obama wants to run out the clock on the matter but is he the only one playing for time? Nancy Pelosi, when she was the Speaker, led a party of ass kissing sycophants but Speaker Boehner does share that luxury. Pelosi could boldly lie that she was not privy to the water boarding of Guantanamo Bay detainees with impunity. Her caucus, where partisanship always trumps principle, didn't give a damn.
Suppose Speaker Boehner and one or two committee chairmen had been briefed about a clandestine CIA operation which the American public would not approve ? That would explain the curious statement by Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Rep. Buck McKeon when he trashed the House Oversight and Government Reform's star witness, Brigadier General Robert Lovell's testimony.

“BG Lovell did not serve in a capacity that gave him reliable insight into operational options available to commanders during the attack, nor did he offer specific courses of action not taken,” McKeon, R-Calif., stated. “In the end, while BG Lovell did not further the investigation or reveal anything new, he was another painful reminder of the agony our military felt that night; wanting to respond but unable to do so.”

It would also explain why House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a man who has spent much of his adult life in the intelligence field both with the FBI and in Congress should suddenly decide that he was really born to do talk radio. Oh please.
Maybe it could shed some light on why the Speaker put a down payment on a $835,000 for a luxury condo in Marco Island, Florida. Was that just some time share investment or is Mr. Boehner also be planning a career move ? Would all three of these men like to see Benghazi go away? Benghazi aside, there have been frequent reports such as this one that tell of a plot by members of the House Liberty Caucus to oust Boehner. If Boehner has, as some suggest, retirement plans after the fall election he may feel that he has delayed the investigation long enough and that he can now allow the appointment of a select committee to investigate not only the Benghazi raid but also the purpose of the Benghazi CIA Annex.
It is now well know that the attack on the Benghazi consulate was an act of terrorism but was it random terrorism? Could it be that the attack was planned for one of the few day that Ambassador Christopher Stevens would be there and that the date of 9/11 a mere coincidence? I am of the opinion that someone wanted Ambassador Stevens dead and that was the sole purpose of the attack. Curiously the terrorists who could provide that answer have not been apprehended even though the presence of some of them is well know. Would they be a bipartisan embarrassment? I'm not prepared to argue that Secretary Clinton wanted Stevens dead but her department certainly adopted a cavalier attitude for the well being of all consulate personnel by withdrawing the Special Forces security teams. Why? When in the history of the nation have American diplomats been protected by third world, rag tag, mercenaries such as the February 17th Martyrs Brigade?
Benghazi is the biggest scandal in any living person's lifetime. No one was killed in Watergate. Monica Lewinsky was never a threat to the republic. Four men are dead and all the country knows for certain is that help never arrived. Ultimately Obama bears the responsibility for the dead but the foot dragging by Speaker Boehner causes me to think there is plenty of blame to share. Only the appointment of Trey Gowdy to chair the select committee will satisfy me that he intends to finally restore some credibility to the House.

The Obama mini-me's-Vietor, Harf, Psaki

  Well, FNC has been having fun playing and replaying the bizarre interview of the annoying Tommy Vietor, a former Obama national security spokesman, who protested being queried by exclaiming, "Dude! It was, like, 2 years ago!"
  Vietor's shocking response has been subjected to wide ridicule around the web; as we wrote yesterday, however, his comportment reflects a more disturbing underlying issue.
  Just what kind of character and background do you need to be a spokesman or official in the Obama administration, even as national security personnel?
  These people share certain qualities:

• easily irritated
• arrogance and a condescending attitude toward the public
• tendencies to lie while claiming transparency
• sycophantic cult-like loyalty
• incompetence
• campaign hacks elevated to positions of authority and enjoying every minute of their very temporary authority

  Let's look at State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki, whose performances regularly include irritation and verbal stumbling. Accused of being an incompetent campaign hack who lies on a regular basis, just to get out of situations that make her higher ups look bad, still, Leftists view her as quick-witted.
  American Thinker has background on Psaki:

Obama's second term even more than his first term has been marked by political hacks being rewarded with plum government jobs. This is true over at the State Department, as well, where Jen Psaki has been given the high profile position as its spokeswoman.

  Here are some of her greatest moments on the national stage. Why would anyone call her an incompetent political hack appointed to a position of significance and authority?
   
  Then there's Marie Harf, who frequently claims to be part of the most "transparent" administration ever. Her glasses set her apart from the Psaki bimbo, apparently.
  Harf embodies the overweening arrogance and condescension of this administration, irritated when questioned, and diminishing concerns over violence and possible terrorist activity.
  Incompetence? Of course.
  Harf is the person who claims "we can use whatever definition of transparency we want." What's important is what Obama's going around saying to everyone, not what the administration is actually doing.
  Don't believe me?
  Watch. It's at the end of the video around 2:10. Transparency is whatever we want it to be.

  Another stellar moment for Harf occurred when she was infuriated by her apparent nemesis APs Matt Lee (who knew?) cutting her off!!! You're interrupting me!!!
  Overweening arrogance.
  Doesn't he know who she is?

  Leftists, of course, see only what they perceive as outward beauty. I mean, who's sexier? Jenn Psaki of Marie Harf? (Can you say House of Cards?)
  A quick scan of this page will show you all the same kind of people who are currently running the Capitol: generally good looking, fashionable smart alecks who are slavishly loyal to The One.
  But this would be exactly who's running the Oval Office too.
  This POTUS is supposed to be the smartest (and most bored) man to ever hold office.
  Evidence of the man's intellectual rigor and eloquence can be found in the following video in which he demonizes those with whom he disagrees and accuses their policies of being a "stinkburger.

  Um, yeah. It sure looks like the arrogant little pricks running the country are emulating you know who.
  They've learned from the best. 
  Or the worst, depending on your perspective.
  I guess anyone who appoints a tax cheat as head of Treasury really doesn't care about optics, competence or national security.

Ohio voters: NO on Issue 1, May 6, 2014

  We are learning about Issue 1 on the ballot next Tuesday from the Ohio Liberty Coalition and the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, we learn that the purpose of the bill will disrupt balanced budgets in Ohio and open the door to easily increase taxes, something this state does not need. I have excerpted a significant portion of the OLC's column and the 1851 Law Center's explanations here:

• The proposed constitutional amendment explicitly authorizes its new spending to be paid for through taxation, and if enacted, would almost necessarily result in a tax increase.

• The proposed amendment would mandate an additional $1.875 Billion in spending at a time when Ohio has just implemented a state budget that is the largest in its history, and growing significantly larger each year. (In 2013, Ohio’s state government spent a record $27.4 Billion. In 2014, state spending is set to rise by an astounding 10.3 percent, to $30.2 Billion).

• The proposed amendment would undermine Ohio’s constitutional balanced budget requirement and debt ceiling by unbalancing the Budget and exceeding the current debt limits; and by circumventing the budget process, the passage of State Issue 1 would likely create perverse political incentives that could further escalate state spending in the future.

• Passage of Issue 1 will not “create jobs” because there is no evidence that government spending projects like this create jobs, rather than simply rearranging their location in the economy: while government spends more, Ohioans will have less disposal income, and will spend less to facilitate job creation.

“Given recent spending increases at the state level, passage of State Issue 1 is likely if not certain to increase taxes, undermine Ohio’s balanced budget requirement, further expand already historically large state spending and indebtedness, create perverse political incentives and cronyism, legitimize the notion of state spending as a viable means of job creation, further clutter an already bloated-beyond-recognition section of the Ohio Constitution, and redistribute wealth from poor and middle-class Ohioans to wealthy out-of-state investors,” said Maurice Thompson, Executive Director of the 1851 Center.

  The Columbus Dispatch is pushing Issue 1, saying it will increase economic growth in Ohio and, since both Democrats, Republicans and the Governor agree that it is the right thing to do, we should all vote for it.
  The truth is that legislators need to be responsible in their budgets, unlike their federal counterparts; Issue 1 is a step toward becoming like the feds.
  While fracking has benefited Ohio's economy, moving it up to no. 23 in state economic outlooks, spending (including political spending) is high in Ohio; the Governor did an end-run around the system to increase Medicaid in the state, an incident that has distinct Obama overtones.

Shocking Vietor interview indicates deep Obama admin problems

  I happened to watch Bret Baer's Report last night on FNC; he started the show with an interview with a baby-faced 32 year old former van driver appointed National Security Council spokesman named Tommy Vietor.
  Vietor comes across as a juvenile smart aleck when he's asked where the POTUS was the night of the murders of 4 Americans, responding that he didn't have a gps tracking device on the president.
  Vietor is condescending, both defensive and offensive and just shocking in his lack of gravitas for having held such a significant government position.
  His behavior does not reflect well on his former employer.
  When pressed by Baer as to who altered the talking points from the "attacks" to "demonstrations," Vietor protested/whined, "Dude, that was like two years ago, and we're still talking about the most mundane process...."
  The real story here is that this individual was in charge of anything other than walking dogs.
  Admittedly hearing the word "dude" in an interview between professionals was shocking, but what was more shocking is that this intellectual light weight was let anywhere NEAR any national security office.
  If this is indicative of the quality of personnel Obama has hired in the layers and layers of government and political appointment, it's no surprise Lois Lerner refuses to testify, the DOJ refuses to turn over documents and no one was watching the construction of the most important government website in history.
  Here's the "dude" moment.


The entire jaw-dropping interview is here:

Hillary "fired for lying unethical behavior"

  Judicial Watch has obtained and released documents that not even Congress or the (lapdog) press, including Sheryl Atkisson, could obtain testifying to the fact that a White House operative who happened to be brother to CBS news Director, urged that the narrative for the murders in Benghazi be “rooted in [an] Internet video, and not [in] a broader failure or policy.”

  The documents that were given to the Congressional committee investigating the incident were heavily redacted, as if it were a security problem to release them in their entirety, a problem that was apparently rectified when Judicial Watch FOIA'ed them in the lawsuit.  "Other documents show that State Department officials initially described the incident as an “attack” and a possible kidnap attempt."
  Carney got nailed at the White House briefing today, just as he claimed that the released emails had nothing to do with the Benghazi terrorist attack but rather with the Middle East in general.
  Three days later, Hillary Clinton glad handed the families of the murdered Americans in front of four coffins, lying to their faces that the attack was about an "awful video" rather than a September 11, forewarned and State Department -ill-prepared- terrorist attack. 
  Daily Caller has her words to those families here:

“This has been a difficult week for the State Department and for our country. We’ve seen the heavy assault on our post in Benghazi that took the lives of those brave men. We’ve seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful Internet video that we had nothing do to with.”

  Hillary knew then the attack was not about a video and yet she persisted in claiming that she and the administration were not responsible for the lack of adequate security at the embassy in Benghazi. Katie Pavlich:

Despite knowing Benghazi was a terrorist attack from the very beginning, after all she was briefed by Hicks who was on the ground, Clinton shamelessly stood in front of the flag draped caskets of dead Americans and blamed a YouTube video anyway.

  When queried, she reminds us: What difference does it make?
  I might remind y'all that Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State when 4 American State Dept employees were murdered under her watch and who claimed it was all over a "video," was fired by a Democrat from working on the Watergate Investigation. 
  From Downtrend:

....when she was an attorney working on the Watergate investigation, she was fired by her supervisor for “lying, unethical behavior.”

Jerry Zeifman, who said he is a lifelong Democrat, was a supervisor for 27-year-old Hillary Rodham on the committee. When the investigation was complete, Zeifman said he fired Hillary and refused to give her a recommendation.

“Because she was a liar,” Zeifman said. “She was an unethical, dishonest lawyer. She conspired to violate the Constitution, the rules of the House, the rules of the committee and the rules of confidentiality.

  Hillary was intending "to deny Richard Nixon the right to counsel during the investigation."  And "in order to pull this off, Zeifman says Hillary wrote a fraudulent legal brief, and confiscated public documents to hide her deception."
  This deceptive illicit behavior is exactly what is on display in the Benghazi matter.
  Does anyone doubt that a 65 year old who was willing at 27 to deny counsel to a defendant, to lie and cheat to prevent the truth about her political party from coming out, who repeatedly dipped her fingers into scandal after scandal in her husband's administration, who was suspected of misusing documents for her party's benefit, whose department somehow "misplaced" 6$ billion during her tenure at State. 
  That Hillary Clinton.
  That that Hillary Clinton would energetically and blithely cover up her department's involvement in incompetence, deception and fraud regarding the murder of four Americans in Benghazi?
  I guess we'll see what difference it makes.

Hey, God, if you'd only be nicer, maybe more people would like You

  I read this article last weekend and have been seething ever since. The author presents everything that's wrong with the way our society views Christianity today.
  Oh, not other religions.
  Just Christianity, especially evangelicals.
  At The Week, the article is entitled "What Christians get wrong about hell," written by someone who purports to know all about Christianity. He complains that those who read the Bible are "overly literalistic" in their embrace of it.
  It is too much to assume even being "literalistic" at all is acceptable to Mr. Linker, who pictures a red Satan bearing a pitchfork with the caption "Nope," presumably because Mr. Linker has been to hell and knows that no such "mythological" creature exists.
  We are told that, peh! Christ only mentioned hell in its fury a few times and thus, since our sensibilities have changed this century, who could be expected to believe that such an awful place still or really exists?
  Linker complains that it would be unjust that only those who strive to live for Christ should enter Heaven:

Jumping off from a handful of Gospel passages in which Jesus Christ speaks about "eternal punishment" for sinners in the afterlife, these believers conjure visions of a cosmic torture chamber in which those who reject God or commit grave sins without repentance are subjected to endless torment as punishment for their transgressions. It is a ghastly analogue to equally crude and comical visions of heaven as a place where the righteous are rewarded with angels' wings and an eternity of harp lessons. 

This is very bad theology — because it takes off from a deeply confused, though very commonly held, view of punishment.

  Instead, Linker believes that sinners should be educated in the way to behave. This would be a more just punishment for those who do wrong than punishing them by sending them to hell when they die, even though they've had plenty of choices during the course of a lifetime and even though we are built with a conscience that pricks us all the time.
  Human beings can't really create just prison systems, you see, being human, after all.
  So Mr. Linker convinces himself by the end of the article that "the most theologically cogent view of hell" is that when one dies, she will realize how separated she is from God, how much she missed by not being part of the Love Brigade and that, darn it, if God is "really good," He's not going to punish all those nasty sinners by condemning them to Hell, but rather, wrap His loving arms around them, thus showing them the error of their ways through Love.
  So basically you can do whatever you want in this lifetime and get away with it.
  There is no real Hell. Only Heaven.

  This drivel is what passes for the theology of the Left.
  If you are unhappy with religious tenets, then you adapt your beliefs to create the Happy Meal of a religion that you want, excoriating any rules as being unattainable and impossible.
  Thus we have an administration that happily determines that God wants people to have greater welfare benefits (more of your money/time), that God would want women to abort their children (??), that God demands "social justice" in all public policy.
  Did Mr. Linker have a Facetime conference with God, I wonder, informing Him that He's such a meanie for expecting people to accept Christ for redemption?
  Does Mr. Linker not know that no man on this earth can meet the requirements of a just God? 
  That that is the reason for Christ's death? To redeem us in our "filthy rags" of so-called righteousness which can never be good enough?
  In the Book of Luke is a story about two men who died, one a pampered rich man who goes to hell, one a poor man named Lazarus whose wounds were licked by dogs who goes to heaven. 
  Needless to say, Lazarus complains that if he can't get some relief down in Hell, he can at least warn his family about living a better life to avoid it. Alas, the rich man's request is denied.

²⁴ “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
²⁵ “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. ²⁶ And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
²⁷ “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. ²⁸ For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’
²⁹ “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
³⁰ “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
³¹ “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”

  I hold no illusion that Mr. Linker and his ilk will ever change their thinking; what I resent is that he's trying to change not only my thinking, but my religion--and ultimately God Himself--to make Him more palatable to a generation who simply does not want to be told they're wrong about anything.
  All is not well.
  All is not good.
  And the simple fact is that, no matter what Linker et al think, God is simply God and will not be changed, regardless how all the humans on the earth feel about Him.
  Religion columnists can write all they want about how Christianity--the religion of peace--should change to suit contemporary mores, but when we die, we'll all find out just who's right.
  Call me a dreamer.
  I just don't want to stand next to Mr. Linker or anybody else like him in a storm.
  "Church is an option," the Portlandia comedians explain, and we'll change it to make it want you want, not what you need.
  Cuz Lord knows we don't need more real Jesus, right?

Nancy Pelosi's dream come true: an artist on the government dole

  My eyes! My eyes bleed!
  Somehow I couldn't look away; I watched the whole thing.
  This person explains why she doesn't want a job.
  Money means nothing to her. She is non-materialistic.
  Perhaps her non-materialism, her other worldliness is why she appears to be wearing nothing but tattoos.
  In explaining her raison d'etre, Pink coughs phlegm repeatedly, licks her pierced lips, complains that she is simply too busy and talented to hold a job because of all her hobbies, which include giving a massage (shudder) and being a Nancy Pelosi artist.
  This "young lady" (phlegm-y cough) says she buys stuff all the time, and doesn't care about living in a home or eating. (cough) She could be homeless (which she is not) and wouldn't care because worldly things mean so little to her.
  The piece de resistance comes at the end when it is revealed she lives with her mother. Naturellement!
  This pink haired troll bellows invectives at her mom without ever moving from the couch. Only her beefy head turns, revealing rolls of fat and ear gauges.
  Really, this is worth watching all the way through. I promise, the end makes it worth the 9 minutes of your life you'll never get back.
 
  This is indeed Nancy Pelosi's dream come true! Remember when she said this:

Law enforcement: keep your Second Amendment rights

  Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke wowed the crowd at the NRA this week. You may have heard of him before, as he is a staunch Second Amendment supporter.
  Clarke is considering running for mayor. One only hopes he does and perhaps even higher office. What an inspiration!

  Sheriff Clarke is not unlike Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who is fed up with Detroit murderers and burglars.
  Chief Craig also encourages homeowners to be prepared in the event of facing an intruder or attacker: it is as it should be, he says, that people are able to defend themselves with a weapon since by the time you call 911 it's undoubtedly too late for help to arrive.
  Realistically, in many big towns, what can police do by the time they arrive but clean up the mess?
  With men like this, we can be hopeful that our Second Amendment rights will be respected and that America can stand strong against tyranny.
  Many--if not most--law enforcement officers support the Second Amendment. It's the political bureaucracy that sells out to the Leftist desire to snatch personal defense weapons.
  The truth is that the good people of Chicago are being besieged by the criminals. Bad people will always get guns. That is why the people who escaped European oppression and understood human nature wrote the Second Amendment in our founding documents.

Utica Drilling Bits

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources released some encouraging news on oil and gas production in the fourth quarter of 2013.

• Gulfport Energy’s “Boy Scout” well in Harrison County, was the top oil producer. It produced 26,095 barrels in 80 days of production.
• The best gas well was Antero Resources’ “Gary” well in Monroe County, which had 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas in 67 days of production.
• Oil production in the fourth quarter of 2013 increased 8% over the previous quarter while natural gas production increased 28%.
• Companies extracted 1.4 million barrels of oil, and 43.1 billion cubic feet of gas.

Let women fight the war on women

Let the women fight the war on women. That would be my advice to the GOP. After the primaries have run their course the Republicans may have 6 highly electable and in some cases downright charismatic women seeking a seat in the Senate. One is all but a slam dunk.

Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia should easily defeat Secretary of State Natalie Tennant. She leads Tennant by 14 points in both the latest PPP and Rasmussen polls. Capito is probably not destined to become your favorite senator but she will be a reliable Republican vote on most important issues. The Democrats were quick to write off this seat. Tennant was the eleventh candidate the Democrats tried to recruit. The first 10 declined to run.

Terri Lynn Land of Michigan may well be the most savvy candidate in the field. In 2002 she ran for Secretary of State and won,55%-43%, winning 75 of the state's 83 counties.She was reelected in 2006 winning 76 counties. Her opponent is Congressman Gary Peters who in addition to not having run a statewide race voted for Obamacare. Hoping to change the subject Peter shifted to the "war on women" cant which brought this rejoinder from Land. The RCP average of polls gives Land a .6% lead.

The Democrats are hoping to hold the seat of retiring Senator Tom Harkin but hoping may not be enough against one of the more exciting candidates of either gender the GOP has fielded since Sarah Palin. Joni Ernst is one tough women! The Harley riding Lieutenant Colonel in the Iowa National Guard gained national attention with the catchy ad below. Today Ernst won the endorsement of the Senate Conservative Fund. She also enjoys the backing of Sarah Palin, who will headline a ShePAC "Heels On, Gloves Off!" rally in Des Moines, and Mitt Romney. Assuming she wins the state caucus she will face tort lawyer Rep. Bruce Braley who besides having voted for Obamacare was caught on video disparaging an "Iowa farmer who never went to law school", Senator Chuck Grassley. Not too clever in a state full of farmers who never went to law school.

Maybe the most contentious senate primary in the country pits state Senator Senator Julianne Ortman against "centrist" businessman Mike McFadden. There are 4 more contenders in the race but in the Republican straw poll Ortman won 31% of the vote while McFadden received 28%. This is trench warfare between the Tea Party and the establishment Republican Party. Tea Party frustration with McFadden's refusal to meet with them boiled up in the video below. Ortman enjoys the support of Sarah Palin and ShePAC. If Ortman prevails in Minnesota's arcane caucus she will face Senator Al Franken. Although the poll continue to show Franken to be the likely winner he has the advantage of running unopposed. When he defeated Norm Coleman he won by a mere 351 votes, some of them from dead people while Obama handily carried the state.

Karen Handel, despite support from ShePac, Sarah Palin and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer who will be the featured speaker at a Monday rally remains a long shot to get her party's nomination. The former Georgia Secretary of State and former vice president of Susan G. Komen for the Cure who quit in protest when the organization resumed funding Planned Parenthood, is running last in a primary field that contains three sitting congressman and the leader, former Dollar General CEO David Perdue.

Dr. Monica Wehby, a Portland pediatric neurosurgeon will face state represenative Jason Conger for the chance to defeat incumbent Senator Jeff Merkley in Oregon. Conger voted with Democrats to establish Cover Oregon with the web site that failed to enroll a single applicant. Wehby is adamant in her opposition to Obamacare and has been since 2009. He second campaign ad, "Trust", posted below is awesome. Although she is a decided underdog to win in a state that has not elected a Republican to statewide office in over a decade I like her chances.