MITT TO CHINA: DROP DEAD
Posted on | November 4, 2011 | 23 Comments
WASHINGTON, D.C.
OK, maybe the NY Post-style headline slightly overstates Mitt Romney’s tough talk on China here at the “Defending the American Dream” summit. Instead the former Massachusetts governor promised that, as president, he would evaluate federal programs in terms of deficit spending financed by borrowing from China.
“For each program we have in the government, I’m going to look at them one by one, and I’m going to ask this question: ‘Is this program so critical, so essential, that we should borrow money from China to pay for it?” said Romney, who is neck-and-neck with Atlanta businessman Herman Cain in the race for the GOP 2012 nomination.
“Now, for example, I like Amtrak, but I’m not willing to borrow $1.6 billion a year from China to pay for it,” Romney said, drawing applause from the crowd in the D.C. Convention Center ballroom. “I really like the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but I will not borrow almost a billion dollars a year from China to pay for them.
“And then there’s foreign aid. Do you know that we give $27 million a year — guess to which country? To China. . . . I will stop sending money to any country that can take care of itself, and no foreign aid will go to countries that oppose American interests.”
That line produced a standing ovation.
Our ruthless Chinese overlords have yet to issue a statement on this unexpected outbreak of Sinophobia from Romney.
A Post Which Tries To Capture The Absurdity Of The Cain Situation In A Way That Some May Find Sacrilegious
Posted on | November 4, 2011 | 12 Comments
by Smitty
15. Now at that Election Cycle, the Media was wont to release unto the #OWS people a prisoner, whom they would.
16. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
17. Therefore when they were gathered together in Zuccotti Park, the Media said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Herman which is called Cain?
18. For he knew that for envy they had delivered him, pulling rumors like rabbits out of a turban so fast that no sane person could track them all, much less formulate a response for why he is labeled by some a Wookie from planet Endor.
19. When the Media was set down on the judgment seat, its conscience sent unto it, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
20. But the chief consultants and donors persuaded the #OWS multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Herman, who had been known to speak to women on Endor, and was rumored to have appeared as Chewbacca at a Halloween party, some said.
21. The Media answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
22. The Media saith unto them, What shall I do then with Herman which is called Cain? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified, for we fear he is a Wookie.
23. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified, for who would accuse an innocent man of hanging around Endor?
24. When the Media saw that it could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made by #OWS, it took water, and washed its hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it, and blame Bush.
It’s Almost As If The US Is Involved In Domestic Low-Intensity Conflict
Posted on | November 4, 2011 | 8 Comments
by Smitty
Sure, it’s people engaged in political expression, right?
Officials with the revamped ACORN office in New York — operating as New York Communities for Change — have fired staff, shredded reams of documents and told workers to blame disgruntled ex-employees for leaking information in an effort to explain away a FoxNews.com report last week on the group’s involvement in Occupy Wall Street protests, according to sources.
NYCC also is installing surveillance cameras and recording devices at its Brooklyn offices, removing or packing away supplies bearing the name ACORN and handing out photos of Fox News staff with a stern warning not to talk to the media, the sources said.
“They’re doing serious damage control right now,” said an NYCC source.
The good news about the Information Age is that you can find out just how important treating politics as a participatory sport has become.
The bad news, as I keep trying to tell my father, is that sitting at home doing the ‘yelly at the telly’ routine, Archie Bunker style, is no longer good enough. This is the Information Age: you now enjoy a tax against your time to stay engaged, and hold the feet of your elected officials to the fire.
The alternative is that somebody who doesn’t mind doing a little flexing is going to take, slowly, and gradually, all you hold dear.
via Instapundit
Boehner: Have I Pissed Off The Tea Party Enough Lately? Maybe Not
Posted on | November 4, 2011 | 54 Comments
by Smitty
House Speaker John Boehner addressed one of the biggest sticking points for the 12 member Congressional “supercommittee” today, acknowledging that any bipartisan agreement will need to include some new tax revenue.
“I think there is room for revenues, but I think there clearly is a limit to the amount of revenues that are available,” Boehner told reporters.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s time that conservatives thought about forming a second major political party in this country. The Dem/Dem-Lite siamese twins are really, really tiresome.
via Alan Colmes
Fear And Loathing In Room 302
Posted on | November 4, 2011 | 3 Comments
by Smitty
A fine day for technical challenges, where buying an all-day pass on the Metro does not mean ‘all day’. Rather, ‘all day’ starts at 0930, if you read the one yellow rectangle in the sea of hieroglyphics on the ticket gadget. The attendant at the turnstile blamed the victim in the most elegant fashion possible when the confusion about ‘all day’ not being all day ‘all day’ arose. Note to Starbucks: if you wonder why I didn’t buy a venti sized beverage this morning, complain to Metro. Tell them Bastiat sent you, since I had to pay twice for the fare to get here. If the Metro ticket machine was any less helpful, it would be the IRS. But that’s another rant. The ride, however, was efficient, and spirited me to the Convention Center without further incident.
Past all that nonsense, it looks like there is a session on protecting the Internet at 0945. We could have a fine viral video if we had a clip of Stacy McCain in there, veering from stupor to agony at the onslaught of technical jargon. He always looks like he’s stuck in a Kafka story at times like that. On the heels of that is my rock star Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, talking about health care. Always a treat, that guy. So I’ll take some notes and check in after noon.
Today’s Herman Cain Headlines
Posted on | November 4, 2011 | 18 Comments
Headline at The Week:
Herman Cain’s accusers: Should
they be allowed to tell their side?
And my post from two days ago is cited in arguing that not only should they be “allowed” to tell their side, they should be compelled to tell their side — and under their own names. Anonymous accusations in such a serious matter are unacceptable. Headline at the ABC News:
Cain Accuser May Issue Statement Today
Will she sign her name to it? No. Of course not. And the media continue protecting them under the assumption that they are victims — which amounts to presuming Herman Cain guilty, based on the testimony of accusers whose credibility aren’t allowed to examine. Headline at Politico:
Sources reveal new details about Cain allegation
The “new details” are not nearly as detailed as the headline suggests, but the shoddiness of Politico is already notorious, eh?
Cain Shows Initial Resilience
in the Face of Controversy
Which is from an ABC/Washington Post poll showing a dead heat — Mitt Romney at 24%, Cain at 23% — in a poll taken entirely after the “scandal” made headlines. Republicans are extending their middle fingers to the media and saying: “You don’t get to choose our nominee for us.” But they’ll keep trying. Headline at The Lonely Conservative:
What a Shock – Big Three Networks Devote
50 Stories to Herman Cain Scandal in Three Days
UPDATE: Rasmussen:
National Poll: Cain 26%, Romney 23%, Gingrich 14%
If Cain survives this, he’ll be bullet-proof.
999 Ninth Street NW
Posted on | November 4, 2011 | 2 Comments
“You’re very attractive,” says Erik Telford
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Here at the Renaissance Hotel — the address of which is the title of the post — I was working hard, trying to get an important story written, but my friends insisted on buying me beers and talking about Herman Cain.
The Americans for Prosperity “Defending the Dream Summit” began Thursday evening at the Washington Convention Center, but the real action is at the lobby bar of the Renaissance. Trust me, I’m professional journalist. I get paid to know these things.
So I found myself talking to Mike Rogers and Chris Heneghan, stone-cold crazy fanatics aboard the Cain Train, who are a story unto themselves. But there’s no time to tell that story now, because at this writing — 12:46 a.m. Friday — they’ve already closed the bar. This is a social injustice, and my friends Mike and Chris have offered me sofa space in their suite at the Renaissance.
The running joke of the night was, “You’re very attractive” — for reasons that should be obvious.
As I say, Messrs. Rogers and Heneghan are a story unto themselves, but there’s no time for that now, as I must pack it in and prepare for Friday’s big events. This post will go live at the blog in the morning, but I bid you good-night with The Five Most Important Words in the English Language: Hit the freaking tip jar!
Mike Rogers stands behind the National Affairs Desk
in the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel, 12:04 a.m., Nov. 4, 2011
LIVE AT FIVE – 11.04.11
Posted on | November 4, 2011 | 3 Comments
— compiled by Wombat-socho
TOP NEWS
Senate GOP Shoots Down $60 Billion Infrastructure Bill
Dems can’t muster more than 51 votes in procedural move to bring bill forward.
Eighty Arrested In Oakland After General Strike Turns Violent
Vandalism and violence blamed on anarchists; Port of Oakland reopens this morning
Cain Faces Public Airing Of Harassment Claims
Restaurant association mulling release of statement from anonymous accuser
POLITICS
Romney Says Reducing Spending A “Moral Responsibility”
Offers preview of tomorrow’s speech to AFP gathering, calls for $500 billion in cuts
Perry Asks Iowans: “Are You Better Off Than You Were $4 Trillion Ago?”
Probably not getting a whole lot of folks saying yes
House Committee Subpoenas White House Solyndra E-Mails
Pennsylvania Unveils Plan For Bankrupt Harrisburg
Mayor Bing: Detroit In “Extremely Serious” Financial Shape
Senate GOP Tells “Supercommittee” Tax Increases Are DOA
THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asia Stocks Rise After ECB Rate Cut
Groupon Raises $700 Million In Biggest IPO Since Google
Lefty Advocacy Groups Claim Most Companies Don’t Pay Taxes At 35% Rate
Chesapeake Energy Nears $3.4 Billion In Deals
US Banks To Push Prepaid, Credit Cards
Starbucks Profit Up Despite Economic Jitters
Amazon Starts Lending Library For Kindle Owners With Prime Memberships
Google Updates Search Algorithm, Ups Ante Vs. Bing
PRC Singled Out For Cyberspying, Russia Also Named In Economic Espionage Report
SPORTS
Stalled NBA Negotiations Lead To Talk Of Union Decertification
Disgruntled faction among players may seek decertification if no deal or wrong deal is made by the weekend
Devils Outlast Flyers In Shootout; Jets Shut Out Rangers
Mackanin First Up In Cubs’ Search
Former Giant Matty Alou Dies, 72
Colts’ Manning Waiting For Neck To Heal, Hoping To Play This Season
Panthers’ Markstrom Makes Case In Loss To Blackhawks
Nationals Get More Wang: One Year, $4 Million
FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
“Breaking Dawn” Sex Scene Almost Earns Film R Rating
So steamy, they had to re-cut it for the PG
Courtney Stodden Steps Out Barefaced and Barely Clothed
Lindsay Lohan Has To Re-shoot For Playboy
Walden Media, J-Lo Team Up On “Carmen Sandiego”
Why Lady Gaga And Katie Couric Will Spend Thanksgiving Together
Marilyn Manson Goes Nuts In Vegas
Nicki Minaj: Maid Is Money-Grubbing Liar
Snooki: I Wish “Jersey Shore” Didn’t Show As Much Drinking And Partying
FOREIGNERS
Greek PM Faces Knife-Edge Survival Vote
His own party may throw him out
Israel Faces Iran Attack Questions
Syria Crackdown Continues, Opposition Says
Setback For Palestinians: UK, France, Colombia Say They’ll Abstain From UNSC Vote
What If They Had A Gaza Flotilla And Nobody Noticed?
Egyptian Generals Giving Signs They’re Not Relinquishing Power
Kenyan Military Spokesman Uses Twitter To Shut Down Border Donkey Sales To Shabaab Jihadis
BLOGS & STUFF
Dave Weigel: Cainaquiddick, Where Source-Based Journalism Goes To Die
Big Hollywood: Michael Moore Attacks First Responders
OWS Exposed: Occupy DC Led By Lifelong Activists
Lonely Conservative: Officials From Organization Formerly Known As ACORN Destroying Documents Tying Them To OWS
Don Surber: People Of Walmart May Elect Next President
Weasel Zippers: Chronic Flip-Flopper Mitt Romney – “I’ve Been As Consistent As A Human Being Can Be”
Michele Malkin: More Ugly Occupy Oakland Pictures That Won’t Make The Front Pages
NRO Corner: Kristof Is Wrong To Hail The Birth Control Solution
Atlas Shrugs: Love Among The Ruins – Obama Hugs Turkish PM Erdogan
SOTD: Innuendo




