And So it Goes in Shreveport

The Headlines Are Crazier Than A Run Over Dog Today

2012-03-06T17:11:00.000-06:00

Two hours ago I was in my classroom attempting to explain the finer points of how to write a research paper to three classes of sophomores who have seemingly never heard of "parenthetical citations" or "a bibliography" or even "sources" for your "research." I was convinced the world had melted out from beneath me and all was lost.

Then I came home and read the headlines on Memeorandum. Now I'm certain that the world has just gone run-over-dog crazy.

Consider:

"Netflix Becomes 30th Advertiser to Drop Rush Limbaugh" Seriously?! This just blows my mind. All this because he called Sandra Fluke a slut? Am I missing something? The woman goes before Congress and opens up her sex life to public scrutiny, complains that she can't afford birth control for all the sex she is having, and Rush Limbaugh is the bad guy because he called her out on it? And who on this planet does not realize that most of Rush Limbaugh's remarks are satirical? Political correctness is ruining this country. Plain and simple. Insane. If Sandra Fluke didn't want the heat she shouldn't have lit the match. And shame on all those advertisers who are caving to this insanity.

Moving on.

The next thing that caught my eye was a story about Bin Laden not really being buried at sea. Apparently it was all fabricated and Bin Laden was spirited into the US on a CIA plane. WTF?! I'll just quote Althouse on this one:

So we had this respectful burial at sea, which was intended to impress/mollify/appease whomever, and now it turns out it never happened. I think messages of respect can be meaningful, even if they are lies, but they must be believed. The messenger needs a reputation for honesty. And the exposure of one lie — especially one this big — makes all your other messages suspect.

And then, there's the Huffington Post seemingly defending wife beating under the Qur'an. You can't put too much stock in an article by a guy who doesn't even know proper grammar:

Critics incorrectly allege that Islam command's husband's to beat their wives, often citing the Quran verse 4:34. [sic]

And finally, apparently the pill is actually an economic "stimulus"! Ha! Who knew?

Don't tell that to Sandra Fluke.

Louisiana Purchase Mary Is Ready For More

2012-03-05T19:44:00.001-06:00

Because 18 years in the Senate isn't enough; via NOLA:

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu says she "definitely" plans to run for a fourth term in two years. The Democrat from New Orleans tossed aside speculation that she was going to end her congressional career after 18 years in the Senate.

Landrieu wouldn't comment specifically Monday on whether she expects Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy of Baton Rouge to challenge her.

"I do not know who my opponent will be. I'm sure I'll have one, and I'll be ready for whoever it is and plan to win," she said.

Here's more on Rep. Bill Cassidy. And here.

Louisiana Purchase Mary isn't worried. She suggests she is way different from Obama and that his low ratings won't affect her chances at all. Bwaahahahahahahahaha! Okay - go with that one, Mary!

Landrieu said, "My record is very different than the President's, and people will judge me on my own record."

Indeed we will.

Related: Moe Lane on Bill Cassidy and Mary Landrieu.

How Long Before the EnviroWackos Come Out on This One?

2012-03-04T22:01:00.000-06:00

Not long at all, actually, as indicated in the comments following the article.

Plans to construct a $220 million pipeline that will transport gasoline and diesel from the Valero St. Charles Refinery in Norco to a pipeline hub 139 miles away in Mississippi are on track to begin this summer, company officials said last week. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, a Houston pipeline transportation and energy storage company that has about 550 employees in Louisiana, announced last September that it would build and operate the pipeline in a joint venture with Valero Energy Corp.

The proposed pipeline will cross Lake Pontchartrain which is making some people nervous.

And anytime you say "wetlands" people get nervous:

The pipeline, expected to be in service by 2013, will have an initial capacity of 110,000 barrels per day, with the ability to expand to more than 200,000 barrels per day. The anticipated impact in the Louisiana coastal zone, a 5.3 million-acre area that includes 40 percent of the nation's coastal wetlands, involves the excavation of about 24 acres of wetlands and uplands and 38 acres of water bottoms.

I guess Darryl Hannah will appear any time now.

Maybe we'll get lucky and the libs won't hear about this one.

Not Exactly a Full Metal Jacket Reach Around

2012-03-04T18:45:00.000-06:00

Spring seems to have sprung around here; I've spent the day doing yard work and bagging up leaves that have been hiding out in flower beds and nestled up against the side of the house. My back yard needs some serious work this spring. It used to be lush and beautiful but we got a Lab puppy two years ago and last year we had a severe drought. (This picture is from better days). Between the two I'm not sure what can be saved out there. I'm definitely going to be in the market for some sod and there's no question that several shrubs will have to be replaced. I'm probably going to need some dirt, too; when a dog digs a hole where in the world does the dirt go? There's never enough dirt nearby to refill that hole.

Mr. SIGIS is watching a spring training baseball game and I'm surfing the blogs trying to catch up on things.

I stopped first at Political Clown Parade who has a post about Andrew Breitbart. In that post the Curmudgeon also comments a bit on blogger burnout and the infamous mental hiatus. She reached such a low point last year that she even took her popular blog at the time down. Regretting that decision later, she is back at it with her current blog:

Last year, I gave up blogging and closed down a site from which I blogged. I was in very bad health and cynical about politics. I had become a timid soul. I had blogged there for several years hoping to make a difference. My health and my cynicism affected my decision. Admittedly, it was a mistake. I regret having taken down the site. After a short time, I decided to rejoin the fray at this site.

I have to say, I gave some thought recently to going dark myself. I eventually dismissed the idea but I did rearrange my priorities and expectations. Getting "a million hits" is no longer a priority and not even that important. Staying inside at my keyboard during all my spare time is no longer a priority either. I decided instead that it was more important to live life than just write about it. There's a balance that must be maintained and for a long time I was out of balance. I think I've made that adjustment now. Fingers crossed.

And bless his heart, William Teach is still linking me even though I've been basically AWOL for weeks. Thank you, Teach. I do appreciate you! I know there are a few others but Technorati being what it is these days makes it hard for me to tell.

At any rate, the Curmudgeon was paying tribute in that post to Andrew Breitbart and his relentless pursuit of the good fight for conservatism. Be sure to check it out.

One of the topics I've really been reading about and mulling about posting has been Governor Bobby Jindal's education reform plan. I touched on it briefly but there's a lot I really want to get into and read about. I'll be honest, though...I'm cautious about writing too much about it at this point. In the first place, there just aren't enough specifics beyond just his wish list and in the second place, I'm trying to consider workplace politics. It's weighing on my mind, though. I'll get back to it.

Bride of Rove has some spot on thoughts about politics and the discussion of issues. In fact, I saw this post on her Facebook wall the other day and figured she'd pissed somebody off:

Can I just say this? If you don’t want to discuss politics on Facebook then don’t post political opinions and links. It is beyond blond to think that everyone is going to either completely agree with you or ignore you and move on. You want a discussion? Post. You don’t? Then don’t post. One of my absolute favorite friends to debate with is (name redacted) because she is smart as a whip, can back up her opinions with facts, and because she and I don’t always agree I actually learn quite a lot from her “salons” … and that’s how it used to be back in the day. People who want to ponder the issues that affect us all and consider all sides, politely and sometimes passionate but impolitely, hosted teas or gatherings and people discussed.

People who disagree with your current views on issues are not the antichrist. You post and it is an invitation for a discussion. Not abuse, of course, but discourse? Definitely.

There's more, but you'll have to go there to read it. I don't ever want to make that woman my enemy. One of the hardest things for me to get used to about blogging was how vicious people who disagree with you can be. During the '08 campaign I had lots and lots of readers who disagreed with me and who did not hold back one iota when it came to telling me what an ignorant, flatline brain I had. It used to hurt my feelings, sometimes it made me question myself, and then it pissed me off. Now I've toughened up and realize that there will always be weird people out there and most of them will disagree with me. I decided if I was going to be sensitive about it then I should quit putting my opinions on the internet. Yeah, so I quit being sensitive.

Another person I don't ever want to get on the wrong side of writes over at Pecan Corner. Tina is taking no prisoners in her disdain of those companies that are canceling their advertising contracts with Rush Limbaugh:

I can appreciate that your companies have the freedom to determine for yourselves where you will spend your advertising dollars, and I hope you will continue to have that freedom for as long as your companies exist.

I'm sure you will also appreciate my exercise of freedom of choice when I politely say it's nothing personal (and I don't even listen to or watch Rush), but I will never spend a single dime for any product your companies produce - not even years from now. The older I get, the better my long term memory will become and I will not relent, even when it's a moot point.

Amen, girl. Hypocrisy exposed. Enough said.

Doug Ross has a few thoughts on what's wrong with the Chevy Volt:

• The Volt has an annoying habit of sometimes blowing up

• It's incredibly expensive

• It's a coal-powered car

• It's the result of central planning, as opposed to actual market demands.

Again, there's more - RTR. No Volt for me. Mr. SIGIS ordered my Jeep in early February and we're expecting to take delivery on that in a couple of weeks. I can't wait! Meanwhile, right now I'm driving a rental 2011 Ford Fusion which is pretty nice. My son is driving my old Crown Vic while we get his insurance claim settled (nobody wants to rent a car to a 20 year old, you see, which is why I'm driving the rental).

Obama's war on coal plants is enough to shy anyone away from the Volt, aside from all its other problems, I would think.

Ah, well. It's off to a hot shower for me. Got to get the yard dirt off and get ready to begin my research paper unit this week with my sophomores. Good times.

Gas Prices Are Rising and Obama is Sticking With Solar

2012-03-03T19:21:00.000-06:00

In a speech last week at a New Hampshire community college, Obama called for an end to subsidies for oil companies:

“You can either stand up for the oil companies, or you can stand up for the American people,” Mr. Obama said. “You can keep subsidizing a fossil fuel that’s been getting taxpayer dollars for a century, or you can place your bets on a clean-energy future.”

Wow.

I bet that makes folks down on the Gulf coast feel all nice and fuzzy.

While I've never been a big fan of Senator Mary Landrieu, she does at least understand the problems down on the Gulf with regard to drilling and the Obama moratorium (via Hot Air):

I want to say that, despite the Administration’s arguments that are laid out, that you all are all guns blaring and green lights for drilling, the facts that I checked, and if you disagree tell me, only 21 permits for offshore drilling have been issued by this date. In 2010 there were 32 permits. I just left the annual conference of LOGA, which is Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, Mr. Secretary, yesterday. They are beside themselves with not being able to get their permits processed and to answer you, Mr. Franken, let me just say Exxon and Shell may be making record profits but according to a study recently done by the Greater New Orleans, Inc., 41% of our oil and gas independent operators and service companies, I’m not talking about Exxon and Shell that have operations all over the world, I’m talking about companies in the Gulf Coast, in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Let me tell you what the studies show about their profits: 41% of them are not making a profit at all, 70% have lost significant cash reserves, 46 have moved operations away from the Gulf, and 82% of business owners have lost personal savings as a result of this slow down.

There's more at the link, including video, but suffice to say that the folks down south are hurting. I guess it is their misfortune that they are sitting on millions of gallons of oil rather than having the foresight to open a solar panel company, get a loan from the government, and go broke that way.

Either way, they lose.

With an end to subsidies, your price at the pump will necessarily go up:

The CRS [Congressional Research Service] says there are two ways of looking at the impact of the tax increases: 1) They will increase gasoline prices and dependence on foreign oil; or 2) They will and should increase gasoline prices, because gasoline is “artificially inexpensive.”

Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) gave the GOP response today with a focus on energy exploration:

“Though the president now claims to support ‘all-of-the-above,’ he has consistently blocked American energy production, most recently by rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline. In addition to that, he has restricted drilling in offshore areas while encouraging other countries, including Brazil, to expand their own exploration. And while the president says oil production alone can’t solve our problems, his administration has proposed costly regulations that would hurt the supply of other domestic sources. Instead of placing his bet on American-made energy and the workers who produce it, President Obama has wasted taxpayer dollars on Solyndra and other unproven technologies.

But, Obama's plan is to stick with solar. We'll see how that works out for him. I mean, the last time I checked, my car ran on gasoline.

I guess I could always get a Volt. Or maybe not.

No Apology Needed

2012-03-03T17:32:00.000-06:00

Instead of discussing the growing tensions between Iran and Israel, escalating gas prices, violence in Syria, or even the killing of Americans in Afghanistan, much of the media has spent the week talking about Sandra Fluke's sex life.

Rush Limbaugh threw even more red meat on the situation by insinuating that Ms. Fluke is, well, promiscuous:

What does it say about the college co-ed Sandra Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex, what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex. What does that make us? We're the pimps. (interruption) The johns? We would be the johns? No! We're not the johns. (interruption) Yeah, that's right. Pimp's not the right word. Okay, so she's not a slut. She's "round heeled." I take it back.

Well the media went wild with this one. Demands for an apology flamed across the internet and Obama even picked up the phone to check on the beleaguered 30-something activist "co-ed".

And now Rush has apologized to the young lady:

For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke.

I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress. I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities. What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Where do we draw the line? If this is accepted as the norm, what will follow? Will we be debating if taxpayers should pay for new sneakers for all students that are interested in running to keep fit? In my monologue, I posited that it is not our business whatsoever to know what is going on in anyone's bedroom nor do I think it is a topic that should reach a Presidential level.

My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.

For my part, I don't think an apology was necessary.

Don Surber does:

Conservatives need to take a little mental trip back to June 2009 when David Letterman joked about Sarah Palin’s “slutty flight attendant look” and joked about her 14-year-old daughter, Willow, having sex at Yankee Stadium with Derek Jeter in the middle of a game.

I think there's a difference there. Sarah Palin did indeed suffer the brunt of many a vile attack and she was probably fair game by being a public figure. But her daughter wasn't. I'm not seeing the analogy there that Surber sees.

The bigger issue here, rather than Ms. Fluke's sex life, is the over-reach of the government to demand that health insurers provide coverage for contraceptives and abortifacients.

Who cares how much sex Sandra Fluke has? I certainly don't and I don't care how much sex her fellow "co-eds" have, either. I think Rush's main point was to call attention to the lack of personal responsibility and nanny-state government. Ms. Fluke threw herself into the forum of public discussion by making her sex life public.

No apology needed.

And Now Regular Blogging Will Resume

2012-03-03T16:11:00.001-06:00

Regular SIGIS blogging will resume shortly; I've been on a sort of metal hiatus for a month or so as you've probably noticed.

Well, some noticed. The blog lost 4 "followers" this week. (It's okay; I quit obsessing about sitemeters and ever hitting "a million hits" about a year ago. I seldom check that sort of thing anymore. And actually, blogging is much more fun that way.)

There's been a lot politically I've wanted to write about these past couple of weeks but from time to time I have to back up and handle real-life things. I'm not really a subscriber of horoscope stuff but I am a Libra and I do have to have balance!

Anyway, it's been a gorgeous day in Shreveport today and I've taken the opportunity to do a bit of necessary house cleaning, laundry, errands, and take care of my mom today. About to hit relaxation mode and catch up on some blogging.

Thanks to those of you that have stayed around.

THIS Mama Grizzly is ANGRY!!!

2012-02-28T19:06:00.003-06:00

I am spitting mad today! Furious!

I've spent the past three days on the phone with insurance companies, adjusters and car companies. As you may remember, my 20 year old son was involved in an accident Friday evening. He had the right of way, was about to head over the Shreveport/Barksdale bridge, and some guy coming the other way decides to "beat the light" and turns left on a yellow, in front of my son's car, and causes my son to T-bone him. Three kind souls stopped to give statements - one of them he (Stupid Driver - not John) nearly hit and another had to swerve to avoid hitting him.

I took yesterday off to get the claims process rolling. I got the police report today and was thrilled to see the StupidDriver had insurance.

NOT!

He told the cops he did. He even gave them a card saying his coverage was good until June 2012. So my agent calls his company today to make a claim and lo and behold, StupidDriver hasn't had insurance since December. It's not clear if he canceled his policy or if they dropped him.

Andy wrote recently about how easy it is to find out things with simple Google searches. I've long known this to be true. As it turns out, StupidDriver apparently doesn't have such a great driving record and was involved in an accident on the way home from a strip club in December. He broke his arm in three places. Or so he says.

I've only just begun to search.

At any rate, apparently it's quite simple to get yourself some insurance, get your handy-dandy insurance card showing you have coverage for six months or so, and then cancel it. And voila! You don't have to pay that monthly premium and can drive your piece of shit car around town, running lights, and bashing into innocent young drivers thereby leaving them without transportation to their college classes! And StupidDriver gets off free and clear. No worries for him. He doesn't even have to find some other insurance company to scam until June. He's still got a card that says he has insurance! He drove away in his bashed and battered Lincoln while my kid's car was towed.

On a related note, how in the hell can ObamaCare pretend to demand that every soul in America purchase health insurance (and enforce that) when we can't even guarantee that some scumbag in Louisiana has the barest minimum of car insurance?

Meanwhile, I have to rely on my "uninsured motorist" coverage to settle on my kid's car and my own rates will likely go up because of it, all for an accident that was absolutely not his fault and was totally the fault of some con-artist scumbag.

Enraged!

That Dreaded Phone Call

2012-02-25T13:10:00.000-06:00

Mr. SIGIS and I had just finished a nice dinner at Texas Roadhouse last night and had stopped into our favorite watering hole on BAFB for a nightcap before heading home. Not long into my first Sam Adams we received "the phone call." That one all parents dread:

"Mom! I've been in a wreck!"

It's my Teenager who really isn't a teenager anymore - he turned 20 last month.

He's fine.

The car - not so much.

We quickly gathered our belongings and dash out to the car and I'm on the cell phone with him asking all the standard questions: Are you hurt? Is anyone else hurt? Was anyone with you? Are the police on their way? You know.

He's in a panic, of course. "I need you here NOW! NOW! Hurry!"

Fortunately, Barksdale AFB is about five minutes from where he was. We were there in four. As we drive over the Red River bridge, I can see the sirens and flashers and hear the horn blaring. I see John standing in the intersection, off to the side a bit, on his phone, "I need you NOW!" I told him to calm down, I had him in my eyesight and we were going to park the car.

Shortly after we got there the EMS and the police arrived.

Poor thing. He was really shaken up, but physically okay. Thank God.

He was following a friend over the bridge to another friend's house when someone made a left turn in front of him way too close for John to stop in time. He slammed on the brakes and swerved but it was too close. His driver airbag and the passenger airbag deployed and the driver's side window shattered. The front end is not really crushed but definitely dented and bent. The other car had a major crush on the passenger door. Luckily nobody was hurt.

And me, all I could think about (after checking him over for injuries) was how in the world am I going to get this kid to school next week? He drives about six miles across town to college every day. True, this is not a huge problem, but you don't think clearly at times like this.

I'm so grateful for Mr. SIGIS who is retired law enforcement and knows how to keep a cool head about things and how to work a scene. He dealt with the EMS and the police officers. We got the car towed (I even gathered the presence of mind to get John's backpack out of it, because remember, I'm all focused on the school thing.)

I wish I'd had the presence of mind to take a picture of his little Ford Contour to show you, but pictures for the blog weren't exactly at the top of my list at the time.

One other blessing, besides John's escape from injury, was that two very kind ladies witnessed the accident and stopped to tell the police what they saw. One of them said the fellow nearly hit her when he turned (four lane street), and the other said she saw John's back tires lift off the ground when he made impact. OMG.

So grateful for them stopping to check on him and to talk to police!

After all was sorted out Mr. SIGIS insisted we take John to get checked out because he was beginning to feel the aches and pains. We spent a couple of hours at the ER, got x-rays done, and all is well. They gave him a little scrip for some pain meds and sent him home to bed.

Of course, today is Saturday and you can't get an insurance agent, find out where the car is, or get anything moving on this, so I had to call a sub and take Monday off to get this worked out.

Meanwhile, today is Mr. SIGIS's birthday! He's older than me now for seven months. So, pictured above, instead of John's wrecked car, is our friend Red who gave him some birthday pie at breakfast this morning (at George's Grill.)

I'm counting my blessings today.

City Commissioners Go a Little Bananas

2012-02-21T19:56:00.000-06:00

Via KTBS:

The Commission shot down District 3 Commissioner, Michael Williams' ordinance to ban wearing sleepwear in public.The Commission voted 8 to 4 not to put the item on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting.

Commissioner Joyce Bowman wore her PJs to the meeting to show her disapproval of the ordinance and says there are more important problems to address.

"What the police and the sheriff needs to do is to go out and get those folks that were shooting up everything last night. That's what they need to do and leave folks alone when it comes to wearing what they want to wear," said Bowman.

"Wore her PJs to the meeting"?

Seriously?

Is Governor Jindal the "Superman" Education Has Been Waiting For?

2012-02-20T21:20:00.001-06:00

Last month Governor Bobby Jindal unveiled his plan for education reform in Louisiana. Since then I've read nearly every thing I can get my hands on about the plan, both pro and con. The discussion even motivated me to finally watch Waiting for Superman. While I think all sides agree that something needs to be done, I still have more questions than answers about Jindal's plan.

Full disclosure: I'm a 16 year educator in the Louisiana public school system. I've been at my current school since 2001 and by the Letter Grade Policy instituted by our state in 2010, my school is ranked "low performing." I've addressed the topic of letter grades for schools on this blog before and won't rehash that one, but to be sure, it's a much more complicated equation than the current grading system allows for.

That said, let me just reiterate that I still have more questions than answers about the current state of public education. Consider the Superman documentary, for example. The kids highlighted in that film all had a concerned, dedicated parent pushing them and pushing to get them into a charter school. What about kids that don't have that? What about kids that don't have someone pulling for them like that?

The film criticizes "the tracking system" and stresses the idea that every single kid go to college. Is this truly realistic or just utopian and is one considered a "bad teacher" for suggesting that not all kids are in fact college material? (I personally am not advocating one way or the other at this point so save your hate mail; I'm just posing questions here).

In Louisiana, one of the ideas Governor Jindal has put forth is to expand the voucher program that has been in place since 2003.

“First, our plan will expand the existing Scholarship Program statewide for low-income students at C, D and F schools."

Some educators have a problem with this citing a lack of slots in private schools as well as questions about the criteria for holding private and parochial schools accountable.

And what of the students who don't meet the academic requirements to get into these schools in the first place? As noted in Waiting for Superman, most states have large numbers of children reading below grade level and performing poorly in math, too. Will private and parochial schools have to take those students anyway or will they just be stuck in those failing schools?

Governor Jindal is also advocating creation of more charter schools, getting tougher on school discipline, and finding ways around that tenure rule:

First, we’re going to empower districts to use compensation to keep good teachers by stopping forced pay increases to ineffective teachers, allowing them to pay effective teachers more, and by allowing them more flexibility in how they structure salaries.

“Second we’re going to ban the practice of using seniority to make personnel decisions of any kind, including ending the practice of “last in, first out” in reductions in force, prioritizing effectiveness instead. Performance-blind personnel decisions cost money and talent.

Of course, there are still questions about how to best determine what an "effective" or "highly effective" teacher is.

Some teachers are in schools where students have had strong parental support and expectations at home their entire lives. They've had a history of good schools behind them and when they get into high school they are on or near grade level. But what of the teacher in the school where many children struggle daily just to survive, have little or no parental support, and reach high school having not been on grade level since second or third grade? Is that high school teacher going to be "ineffective" if he or she can't get that student on grade level in one school year?

The Louisiana legislature doesn't go into session until March so as of now there is no actual legislation to study. Most seem to think that Governor Jindal will get some of his measures passed but not all. He will surely come under fire from both sides.

As I said, more questions than answers at this point.

Thoughts?

Shreveport Does The Highland Parade in a Big Way!

2012-02-19T20:10:00.000-06:00

And now Mardi Gras 2012 is in the books. What a beautiful day in Shreveport-land for a parade!

Mr. SIGIS and I almost missed the Highland Parade today due to doggie issues (Steve's white German Shepard had some doggie day surgery Friday and we've been monitoring stitches and trying to keep her in out of the rain).

We were not cleared to go to the parade until about an hour before roll time. The Teenager volunteered to dog sit and so it was a go for us. We got to our usual spot about ten minutes before the parade kicked off. Because of our late arrival we didn't have front line status so we missed out on the cute stuffed toys and trinkets but we did score plenty more cheap plastic beads made in China!

As I say each year, the Highland Parade is just hands down my favorite parade because you meet the coolest, nicest people. Steve and this guy (pictured) were bartering over chocolate and banana moon pies thrown from the floats and struck a trade deal (which was not influenced in the least by the green plastic sword this fellow is holding in his hand):

And as has been our record each year, Steve scored a hot dog from the Krewe of Bar B Que. And if that wasn't enough, he also caught a sausage, pepperjack cheese, tortilla wrap! LUNCH!

One of the fun things about living in the same place your entire life is that sense of community. My friend Kathy is in the BBQ krewe and she sees to it that we get a hot dog every year! We are both in our 50s now, but we went to elementary school together. She has aged much better than I have! One year when I was with The Teenager (he wasn't a teenager then) at that parade, Kathy leaned over the side of her float and gave him a cool bamboo spear decorated with feathers in Mardi Gras colors. He was thrilled!

Anyway, when the Highland Parade was done we headed to a local eatery, Marilynn's Place, that was holding an after party. I took a few pictures but you can't tell by them what a success this party was.

It was totally standing room only. For you non-locals, Marilynn's is in a converted service station and keeps that service station theme in a lot of ways. The big bay doors were thrown open and the parking lot was roped off for tables and a stage for the band. We ate crawfish, beignets, and andouille dogs.

There was face painting and clowns making balloon animals for the kids.

Owner Boz stood on the roof of the place and threw beads out to the crowd....

... and a hot air balloon lifted off from the golf course right behind the restaurant. The balloon was, of course, Mardi Gras colors. When it got above the restaurant they dropped a glitter bomb and then dropped trinkets of some kind - I have no idea what they dropped because they all missed the crowd and landed in the drainage ditch across the street.

It was funny because then everyone ran across the street and down into the ditch to pick up whatever it was! Not me. I sat at my table with my andouille dog and my Abita.

All in all it was a beautiful, perfect day in SIGIS-land.

I'm off tomorrow for President's Day and plan to catch up on some political blogging then. Among other things.

On a side note, last night someone reminded Jerry Jeff Walker that this Tuesday is Fat Tuesday and he said, "That's allright, I'll still be fat on Tuesday." I know what he means!

I Heard Jerry Jeff Walker do "LA Freeway" Tonight!

2012-02-18T23:35:00.000-06:00

Instead of getting rained on at a Mardi Gras parade tonight, Mr. SIGIS and I went to see Jerry Jeff Walker at Sam's Town Casino, and we had a great time!

I've got to say, JJW puts on a great show for a man approaching 70 years old!

On top of that, he was sick as a dog and still performed at the top of his game tonight. He told the audience when he came out that he'd been sick and hadn't left his bed in two weeks and you could tell it in his voice at times. But that's the thing about JJW that I love - the more gravel in his voice, the more I love it. He cracked a few times but it didn't bother anyone in the sold out crowd tonight.

His set list tonight included "L.A. Freeway", "Little Bird", "London Homesick Blues", "Navajo Rug", the "Trashy Women" song, the "Pickup Truck" song, "Mr. Bojangles", "Sangria Wine", and "Woman From Texas".

To be honest, what I really wanted to do was sweep all those lined up rows of chairs out of the way, push them to the walls, and let people dance and move. Listening to Jerry Jeff Walker with everyone sitting in rows like automatons is just weird to me. His music just cries out for you to be dancing, moving, interacting with him and his band, buying shots, and singing along. To the crowd's credit, eventually the robotic rows of observers got up and moved to the front, waving arms and beer bottles, cheering and talking to Mr. Walker. His appreciation was clear in his grin and he was encouraged to come back for an extended encore, performing three more songs.

Early into the show he accepted some Mardi Gras beads from fans which was fun.

I really wanted to hear him do "L.A. Freeway" and he did not disappoint, even getting up off his stool and jamming with the band toward the end of the song. It's a crowd favorite and I could barely contain myself in my chair! "Navajo Rug" is another favorite of ours and the crowd was waiting for that one too; there were lots of sing alongs with that one. "Aye, aye, aye, Katie...."!

What I did not hear that I wanted to? "Jaded Lover" and "Coat From the Cold." But heck, when you have as many great ones as Mr. Walker does, he can't get them all. The show ran about an hour and a half, counting the encore.

The crowd was appreciative and spanned the ages. I loved the folks that gathered at the edge of the stage and had I been closer, I would have been there too!

Great fun and oh so much better than getting rained on at the parade!

Here's "Navajo Rug" from YouTube; I love this song! I can just see Katie carrying that rug through the smoke, out the door!

Frustrations

2012-02-17T17:22:00.001-06:00

A while back a blogging friend was having a bad day and posted a glaring picture of a mean looking cat and after venting concluded with the line "mean.ass.mean.hate." The deep philosophical nature of that line has, for some reason, stuck with me and resurfaces in my brain on days like today.

I don't even want to get into it much because some of it is work related and I want to keep my job. But trust me, today is a "mean.ass.mean.hate." kind of day even if it IS Friday.

I'm bad about bringing frustrations home with me. I wish I could just leave them at the door.

I'll open an IPA and work on that.

Say YES, Tim!

2012-02-14T16:46:00.000-06:00

Local Barksdale Airman Jamie Walden was on Fox News this morning discussing her invitation to Tim Tebow. So far Mr. Tebow has not responded.

Jamie's video is here.

Most People Get Cards but I Got a CAR!

2012-02-14T06:19:00.002-06:00

Best husband award of the year goes to Mr. SIGIS! While many people get cards and flowers for Valentines day, I got a card and a CAR! Well, a Jeep, actually. A 2012 Wrangler in deep cherry red, rag top. Since I'm driving a 1992 Crown Vic, this is really exciting!

Yay!

The White House Spin Is Making Me Dizzy

2012-02-12T19:23:00.000-06:00

This is why so many people hate politics and/or politicians.

The spin. The doublespeak. The lies.

Case in point. Consider White House chief of staff Jack Lew this morning talking with George Stephanopoulos on the contraceptive issue that has been raging; it's really the same thing that grated during the Obamacare debate. This morning Jack Lew said (emphasis mine),

You know, George, from the very beginning, the president had two important goals here. One is to guarantee that every woman has a right to all forms of preventive health care, including contraception, secondly, that we do it in a way that respects the legitimate religious differences and the religious liberties that are so important in our country.

On Meet the Press this morning, Lew said:

We are now in a place where we can say with certainty that women are going to have the right to health care and we can say that religious institutions, including Catholic hospitals and universities, won't have to pay for or do the administrative work to provide benefits that they find objectionable.

First of all, when exactly did health care become a "right," and two, when did contraception become a "right"? And when did I, as a woman, not have access to health care? Sure, women at one time were denied the right to vote, but health care? I don't remember that one.

And on the issue of contraceptives, women have managed their contraception choices for ages without the government guaranteeing their right to it.

It's all about the doublespeak.

Now all of a sudden Republicans are apparently denying women access to contraceptives because they don't want the government dictating every aspect of our daily lives. Bullspit.

And now, the government is attempting to force insurance companies to provide it whether they want to or not. As Rick Santorum pointed out on Meet the Press this morning:

No one's denying them access to birth control. This is, this is outrageous. I mean, the, the bottom line is that you have the federal government now saying we're going to give you a right and then saying, by the way, we're going to tell you how to exercise that right. We're going to control you, a religious, a church-affiliated group as to, you know, what you provide to your employee. And if you don't like it, tough, because our rights, our right to tell you what to do trumps your deeply held convictions about what your dollars should be spent for. And the idea that you can have the insurance company, and by the way, many and--of--a large number of Catholic social service providers are self-insured, and so the self-insured is the insurance company, they're going to be forced to still provide.

So all that compromise business about how the Catholics won't be forced to provide contraception is baloney.

It's all smoke and mirrors.

Lew went on with his spin cycle when he said on the subject of a Senate budget:

So it, it is a challenge in the United States Senate to pass legislation when there's not that willingness to work together. Congress didn't do a great job last year. It, it, it drove right to the edge of a cliff on occasion after occasion. I actually think it's unfair to blame the United States Senate for that. A lot of that was because of the extreme, you know, conservative approach taken by House Republicans.

Hunh? It's the fault of conservatives that Harry Reid hasn't passed a budget in the Senate in over 1000 days? When David Gregory pointed out that the Democrats control the Senate, Lew then blamed the tea party:

Yeah, but it--the positions that ended up tying the Congress in knots came out of the House. It came out of the tea party wing in the House.

Ridiculous.

So. According to Jack Lew (on two different programs) today, contraceptives are a natural born right and the conservative tea party wing is to blame because Harry Reid can't pass a budget.

I'm getting dizzy.

No wonder people hate politicians.

Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus & Meoux Parade

2012-02-12T16:59:00.001-06:00

It was a lovely afternoon for a parade! An animal parade, that is. A bit cool outside, but in the sun it was just right. All the wind from yesterday has blown away and we were left today with clear blue skies.

Steve and I headed downtown to the riverfront to catch the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade. The Barkus and Meoux Krewe began in 1999 and their mission is to develop, foster, and promote programs to benefit abused, neglected and homeless animals, as well as promote responsible pet ownership with public education about a voluntary spay/neuter program.

Steve and I like to get there early and walk around looking at the animals, the costumes, and the vendor booths.

The dog park booth was our first stop:

The Shreveport Dog Park Alliance is raising money to build Shreveport's first dog park. I don't think my dogs are socialized enough to go to a dog park (they think they're the only dogs in the world) but we support the idea anyway.

We also visited The Canine Cabana booth; who wouldn't support a doggie spa and resort?!

We stopped to check on the hunt for little lost Cheeto who has been missing a few weeks now. Cheeto disappeared from the Broadmoor area and was picked up by a lady in a blue SUV. Cheeto has three legs and special needs but so far no one has come forward to return Cheeto.

There are flyers all over town so whoever has Cheeto must know that someone is trying to find this dog. Sad.

UPDATED: Cheeto has been found! via Yogie and Friends:

For those of you who have been following the missing three-legged Yorkie, Cheeto, we are happy to report that HE HAS BEEN FOUND. He is pictured here in the arms of his estatic owner, Debbie Cowen. He has been missing since January 18th, so this is a true miracle for them. Thanks for all who were diligently watching and searching for Cheeto. Now Debbie can eat and sleep again. Lol! Welcome back Cheeto!

Good news!

The kids area was busy:

The crowd began to fill in with people taking seats on the terraced lawn facing the river:

And oh, the animals! We saw a miniature horse:

or two...

A rabbit:

or three...

Resting dogs:

Dogs in tutus:

Humans dressed like dogs:

And dogs dressed like humans:

Dogs in floats:

Little dogs:

Big dogs:

People in costume:

Dogs in sunglasses:

Dogs in daisys:

Bulldogs!

And Bostons!

There were lots more. I'll post The Times gallery link when it's up.

This is a great family event and I think the animals have more fun than the kids. I've never seen so many happy dogs in one place. In this parade there are more dog treats thrown than beads. There are as many dogs watching the parade as there are IN the parade. Good times for all.

Our next Mardi Gras event will be Sunday - the Krewe of Highland Parade!

Added: The Times story. And The Times photo gallery.

Take a Trip to the Centaur 2012 Parade

2012-02-11T20:31:00.000-06:00

We have survived the 2012 Centaur parade; it was cold out there! The temperature at parade time was about 37 but the wind was blowing and the sun was sinking and it felt colder. You never know with the weather around here. It was seventy degrees last week and freezing today.

We always walk to the parade route from chez SIGIS. It's not that far and is much easier than fighting the traffic after the parade. I have a friend that lives right on the route and so that's our base on parade day.

She invites a crowd and everyone brings a potluck contribution. This year a guy brought his deep fryer so our feast included fried cheese sticks, chicken tenders, and corndogs. There was also boudin, burgers, jambalaya, steak on a stick, and plenty of sweets, chips and dips to go around. I ate the best brownies I've ever had in my life. After the parade the fixins' for s'mores come out and the kids are in hog heaven.

We had three fire pits going:

...and I nearly caught myself on fire at least twice.

I love to people watch while sitting by the fire. I saw people with wagons:

And people with tutus:

People eating:

And one group brought a couch and a basketball goal out there:

And there's a guy with a turkey on his head:

Some unfortunate soul got a ticket right before they closed the streets:

The house next door to where we were had this sign in their yard:

And in fact they did give away lots of coffee, cocoa and water. Probably prayers, too!

There were plenty of bounce houses:

And I'm not sure what to make of this:

But lots of people just walked:

We ran into our good friend, Red. I've known her for thirty years, at least:

But finally it was time for the parade. And what magnificent animals to start it off!:

Look at those feet!:

Gorgeous animals.

They were followed by the Louisiana Tech Band:

Then the floats came.

People go crazy at parades. It's all over cheap plastic beads from China and various other trinkets. It's fun to reach up and snag some beads out of the air when a krewe member throws them to you. Sometimes it's one string of beads, sometimes it's a tangled wad of beads. Sometimes a krewe member will single you out, lean over the side and hand you something "special". A guy on this float leaned over and handed me some beads in a plastic ziploc bag with a huge medallion on them and this guy standing next to me reached out and snagged it from my hand.

I just looked incredulously at him, and said, "Dude! Really?!? He handed that to ME!" He just laughed at me and lit a cigarette. I thought about having a throw down right there in the middle of the road but didn't want to end up on the front page of the newspaper over some mardi gras beads. I did step to the back of the crowd and just watched for a while, though.

This float was cool:

It's the year of the dragon:

These folks were fun to watch:

I loved the penguin float - their costumes were cool!:

Ahem. The Democrat float?

Belly dancers!

The Mansfield High Marching Band:

The Seal Team Six float came by...:

...and it was a sobering moment:

The Saints float:

It was dark by the time the parade ended:

and by that time I was already back by the fire pit trying to thaw out!

We had a grand time despite the random jerk or two in the crowd and the cold! Tomorrow is the Barkus and Meoux parade and then next week we'll forgo the Gemini parade in favor of a Jerry Jeff Walker concert but we will catch the Highland Parade (and maybe catch a hot dog from the Krewe of Bar B Que!)

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Whitney Houston - 1963- 2012

2012-02-11T19:40:00.003-06:00

What a voice. Her rendition of the national anthem was one of my favorites:

Time to Mardi Gras!

2012-02-10T22:03:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is our first parade of the Mardi Gras season; there have been a couple of minor parades already but the first of the three "big" parades is tomorrow. Here is my report from last year. Mr. SIGIS and I will be there ready to roll!

We have three big parades here; first is the Centaur Parade. It kicks off at 4:30 this year and begins at the Preston end (for you locals) and ends up downtown. The route next week for the Gemini Parade will be reversed. Our normal parade spot will be right at the beginning of the route tomorrow which is nice because it's supposed to get fairly cold tomorrow night. If we play our beads right, we could be home just after dark.

The Barkus and Meoux parade is this weekend, too.

Mr. SIGIS and I will miss the Gemini parade this year because we have Jerry Jeff Walker tickets, but we'll be at the Highland Parade the next day.

We've already consumed one king cake this year.

I'll have to get up and get my Saturday duties handled early and we'll head out to people watch, walk the streets, sit by wood fires, eat way too much, and scream our lungs out for cheap plastic beads made in China while sipping beer.

Stay tuned for photos.

Why I Dropped My NEA Membership

2012-02-10T16:28:00.001-06:00

From my school inbox today, a nugget from the NEA:

NEA members: Become an Educator for Obama. Now more than ever, we need to elect a President who shares our vision for a stronger America. Do your part andpledge to be an educator for Obama today on the NEA Fund for Children and Public Educationwebsite. The website also features information on other NEA recommended candidates for federal office (Democrats and Republicans) as well as the profiles of NEA Fund members and the latest news on the election.

I'm glad I dropped my membership. I did this in July after the NEA decided at their convention to endorse Obama and to raise PAC dues from $10 to $20 to put toward their support of him.

Out of curiosity, I looked at their list of "recommended candidates." It includes Gabby Giffords; should I let them know she's not running?

In Massachusetts they're supporting Markey (D), Niki Tsongas (D), and William Keating (D), among others. It's quite a list, actually.

Nope, NEA. You can keep your liberal candidates and I'll keep my money.

"Choot 'Em!" Returns Tonight!

2012-02-09T18:14:00.000-06:00

SIGIS is breaking from politics tonight because tonight is the premier of the third season of Swamp People!

Okay so I don't watch a lot of television and about the only time I blog about things on TV is when a debate is on, but, this has been in the back of my mind for a few weeks now. There seems to be a rash of new reality series on TV in which the main purpose seems to be to make people in my state look like backwoods, ignorant hillbillies. A couple of weeks ago CMT premiered two shows: Bayou Billionaires and My Big Redneck Vacation.

I watched the premier of each of those. Now, Bayou Billionaires is going to feature my friend Milly Rose in a couple of episodes (she's appraising their antiques) and Milly swears these are really nice people. In the one episode I saw, they did in fact seem to be pretty normal. The show features a family that has hit big money in the Haynesville shale. CMT, for their part, puts them in scenarios that make them seem ridiculous (like going to join the country club), however, I've only watched one episode. I'll reserve judgment.

Same thing with Redneck vacation. CMT describes it this way:

From the creators of My Big Redneck Wedding comes a new series chronicling the adventures of one countrified, loud-mouthedfamily from the swamps of Louisiana as they take over a $4 million house in the Hamptons of New York. Watch as this mud-slidin',four-wheelin', beer-slingin', dixie-whistlin' crew learns how to live the high-life and show them Yankees how the South getsdown. From polo lessons to wine-tasting to a truly Hamptons nuptial, this rowdy bunch is in for a summer they'll never forgeton My Big Redneck Vacation.

In the episode I saw, the ladies were in a store in the Hamptons asking the butcher for "nutria rat" for their dinner. Seriously? C'mon.

To me, Swamp People is different. Series star Troy Landry has become a cult icon already and the stars make appearances all over the country. Over 750,000 people "like" their page on Facebook. Troy and his son Jacob were on Fox News this morning promoting the new season.

What Mr. SIGIS and I like about Swamp People is that the show teaches about the culture of the people in south Louisiana that live this way of life. They are family oriented and they live off the land. These people aren't hunting alligators for sport or to make trophys. It's a way of life.

The season is only open for about a month (in September). It is strictly regulated and you must have a license to hunt; you are granted only so many tags and once you've filled your tags, you're done. The purpose of the alligator program is primarily species protection and control:

The goals of the Department's alligator program are to manage and conserve Louisiana's alligators as part of the state's wetland ecosystem, provide benefits to the species, its habitat and the other species of fish and wildlife associated with alligators. The basic philosophy was to develop a sustained use management program which, through regulated harvest, would provide long term benefits to the survival of the species, maintain its habitats, and provide significant economic benefits to landowners, alligator farmers and alligator hunters.

The show often highlights the family gatherings of the principal characters - children, grand children, and even great-grand children. Generations of families living the only kind of life they've ever known and making a living off the land. They teach the kids solid family values.

While some might complain that Swamp People makes Louisiana people look ignorant, I'd say just the opposite. I'd suggest looking at the life lessons and the culture the show displays rather than the "brutality" of shooting alligators. It's so much more than that and they are lessons everyone could use.

The series premiers tonight at 9 ET, 8:00 SIGIS time on The History Channel.

Say Yes, Tim!

2012-02-09T17:21:00.002-06:00

A Barksdale airman is trying to get Tim Tebow to go to the military ball with her in April. She's cute as a button! How could he NOT "say YES!":

What If Santorum Wins Big Tonight?

2012-02-07T19:36:00.001-06:00

It might be a big night for Rick Santorum or it might be a big bust - who knows!?

Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota are all hosting election events tonight; no delegates on the table but lots of bragging rights.

Some links for the wait:

Google Politics has the maps and results - you can toggle between states on the upper right.

Red State has a Live Coverage event going on.

Allahpundit:

No delegates at stake tonight, but this is probably Santorum’s last chance to breeze past Newt as the race’s designated Not Romney. Read Ed’s post on the latest PPP numbers if you missed it this morning: He’s up by 13 points in Missouri (where Gingrich isn’t on the ballot) and by nine in Minnesota. If he wins both easily, then he gets a bunch of positive media coverage this week and maybe a few more big-name conservative endorsements, which in turn could mean enough movement in the polls to put him on at least an equal footing with Gingrich. Once that happens, the pressure will shift to Newt to explain why he should stay in and divide the conservative vote on the strength of having won one state while Santorum should drop out after having won three. Is that enough to get Gingrich to quit? Why … no, but it’ll make an increasingly dull primary interesting again until Super Tuesday.

The Washington Post also has live coverage and updates.

USA Today is live-blogging.

Predictions?

Added:

Why are they still voting for Cain, Huntsman, etc.?

Protest votes? Absentee votes?

Sign Me Up For The Sweet Meteor of Death, Too

2012-02-07T06:37:00.002-06:00

I've been in a depressed funk over the GOP candidates. Thus the light blogging, I guess.

Via Hot Air, this is where I am too:

Influential conservative blogger Erick Erickson said he would endorse the “sweet meteor of death” over any of the current GOP candidates, but would back the party’s eventual nominee in the general election against President Obama.

Anybody but Obama.

With the exception of Stacy McCain, I can't find anyone who is really enthusiastic about any of the candidates, for that matter.

Allahpundit:

Honestly, my core problem with the field is less their specific weaknesses than the fact that we failed to entice a top-tier star candidate into the field against a vulnerable incumbent whom conservatives despise. I can’t get past that. Like Erickson, I’ll vote for the eventual nominee, but I can’t bring myself to choose one over the others because the feeling that they’re not our best is ever present. Deep down, I don’t think any of them are equal to the fiscal challenges ahead. How can I have a preference?

Ditto.

Happy Birthday, Ronald Reagan

2012-02-06T06:31:00.000-06:00

SIGIS is remembering Ronald Reagan today. He would be 101.

Here are Ten Reagan Quotes from CSM.

Marathon Pundit relives his Reagan centennial trip.

The Patriot Post has several links for the occasion.

Americans for Prosperity has an ad out for the occasion:

Another "Perrybot" Response

2012-01-31T20:13:00.000-06:00

I was at work this morning when I saw Stacy McCain's bitch-slapping post to the "Perrybots" and I couldn't respond at the time because, well, I was at work.

Stacy, it seems, is aggrieved because Rick Perry's campaign burned through $20 million in his failed campaign. Stacy, who was all for Herman Cain, by the way, is now on the Rick Santorum bandwagon; he seems to be harboring some resentment about his current candidate's cash raising status:

Just ask yourselves, Perrybots, what might have been possible if some other candidate — any other candidate, perhaps one who could remember how to count to three – had an extra $20 million to spend here in Florida. But no, you spent months telling the rest of us that Rick Perry was The Only Conservative Who Could Beat Romney, an argument you didn’t hesitate to repeat as late as December, long after it was apparent that he wasn’t ready for prime time. And you still refuse to admit that you were misled, and helped mislead others, into jumping aboard that hopeless Bandwagon to Loserville.

I'm quite fond of Stacy and I have great respect for his Shoe Leather Reporting; I link him often and have hit his tip jar several times, but he's dead wrong on this one. Rick Perry had every bit as much right to run as did Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, or anyone else for that matter. If he burned through $20 million then it was his to burn. And the people had just as much right to support Perry as Stacy does his candidates of choice.

Troglopundit refutes Stacy's logic:

One need not be a “Perrybot” to see the logical fallacy McCain is making. To wit: “if Rick Perry hadn’t entered the race, somebody else would have gotten that $20 million.”

I dunno what’s in that pile, but it smells.

Short answer: no, neither Rick Santorum, nor Herman Cain, nor Michelle Bachmann, nor Thaddeus McCotter would have received that $20 million. A small proportion of it, perhaps. I’m speculating, but it seems likely that other candidates would also have received some of it. Therefore whatever financial impact this fictional Perrylessness might have had would be distributive in nature, and thus zero.

Perry had several large contributors who were likely donating for the sole reason that they liked Perry and his record of success in Texas. Heck, I even donated to Perry (not millions!) but I haven't donated to anyone else as of yet. In this little microcosm, my small donation would not have ended up going to Santorum even if Perry had never run in the first place. I'd have kept it.

The fisking of Stacy continues with Wyblog:

Hey, Stacy McCain is a kick-ass gonzo journalist and all. He Knows Things. I'm just a random Polack from New Jersey. But it occurs to me that Rick Perry, a guy who's actually won elections and governed from conservative principles,might have gotten more traction if a certain gonzo journalist hadn't taken a flyer on the likes of Herman Cain, and in the process misled a whole lotta other folks into buying a one-way ticket on the 9-9-9 Restraining Order Express. Cain wanted to be president alright, just not President of the UnitedStates. More like president of Hooters, if you get my drift.

How much cash did Herman Cain suck out of the Santorum coffers? How much early traction could Santorum have gained had Stacy not been on the Cain Train?

Adrienne chimes in:

Well, who's sucking up oxygen now?

Michelle Malkin has thrown her support behind Santorum. I understand her reasons. I like Santorum, too. But I also believe that he is not going to be the nominee. Neither is Ron Paul.

I think that in the end the only one making any sense here is Smitty:

The candidates all suck: get over it.

Amen.

Remember, when Perry got into the race he was viewed by many as the savior from this stinkin' field of RINOs we have now; he'd never lost an election and had a track record (while not perfect) of conservatism and job creation in Texas. Why was it wrong to support that, pray tell?

It was much easier to support that than to support a guy who lost a re-election bid in his own state.

As it is, the process is working. We don't like the candidates, but it's working. Perry faltered and he failed. I hate it, but it is the way it goes. Newt says he's staying in. Mitt is staying in.

Krauthammer sees Missouri as Santorum's chance to make a stand (February 7):

I think [he's] staying in. I think the real sleeper event could be in Missouri. Missouri doesn’t have any delegates. It’s only a beauty contest. But Gingrich isn’t on the ballot. I think for Santorum, this is his great opportunity. He’d be essentially one-on-one with Romney.

If polls are to be believed, Republicans need to stop eating their own and start focusing on Obama. As it is right now, we're handing him four more years.

None of our candidates are perfect. In fact, Smitty is right - they stink. All of 'em. But in the end, blaming the "Perrybots" and continuing the blame game won't win back The Oval.

Truth is, there's no real conservative in this race and in the end we're going to have to do the same thing we did in 2008. Hold your nose and vote.

Let's just hope we don't get the same result.

Charlie Crist Thinks Obama is Doing "What's Right for the Country"

2012-01-31T19:11:00.000-06:00

In case you had any lingering doubts about Charlie Crist's true colors:

In a rare television interview, former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who left the Republican Party during his unsuccessful 2010 U.S. Senate bid, told Chuck Todd on “The Daily Rundown” that he’d consider voting for President Obama in November.

“Consider? Sure, I would consider that,” said Crist. “I really think he’s sincere and genuine. I think we have a lot time, a lot of issues to talk about, but I think, in his heart, he’s trying to do what’s right for the country overall.”

More at Not One Red Cent!

(H/T: The Corner)

A Message for Mitt and Newt

2012-01-31T17:05:00.000-06:00

Dear Republican contenders:

Please start going after Obama and not each other.

Via Legal Insurrection, Obama is trouncing both of you:

In potential Election 2012 matchups, it’s President Obama 47% and Romney 42%. However, if Gingrich is his Republican opponent, the president holds a double-digit lead, 50% to 37% (see tracking history).

Thanks,
Pat
xoxoxoxo

"Printer! Printer!"

2012-01-30T16:14:00.000-06:00

Do you need to smile today? This is adorable.

(H/T: Josh)

Full Metal Jacket Reach Around: The Perfect Weekend Edition

2012-01-29T19:49:00.000-06:00

The camellias are starting to bloom but it's clear that mine have suffered from the drought last summer. I spent a little time this afternoon pruning dead wood from my camellia bush and now I'm hoping it makes a comeback this summer.

But when the camellias start to bloom I know spring is not too far behind.

Mr. SIGIS and I had a busy Saturday and a lazy Sunday which is just about a perfect weekend.

Saturday I hit up a couple of estate sales early in the day then we headed over to Minden for the kickoff of Mardi Gras with their German Fasching celebration. We had a grand time catching beads and watching the infamous Milly Rose dancing in Main Street along with the parade (video below).

My shopping treasures this weekend include this pretty jadeite vase (left). I also picked up an old "depression era" green water bottle. I remember we always had one of these in our refrigerator when I was growing up and it just reminded me of my childhood so I bought it. I also bought an old Kosmos Brenner brass oil lamp. And finally, Milly gave me a beautiful depression glass pink serving tray which I adore. So as far as treasures go, it was a great weekend!

Today we've moved at a slower pace. I did some much needed housework, went to my mom's and took care of her, then Steve and I took the rest of the day off. We sat on the deck in the sun, drank a beer, and watched the dogs play and visited with our neighbor for a bit.

I'm disgusted with the Republican race right now. Like Pundette, though, I'm "bitterly clinging" to Rick Santorum as long as I can. Deep inside I'm just enraged at the ignorant establishment at the head of the Republican party who has put us right back in the same mess we were facing in 2008. I can't even verbalize just yet how pissed off I am at the state of things.

Elsewhere:

The Other McCain is still filing great "on the road" coverage of the campaign - this time from Florida.

Speaking of the bone-headed Republican establishment, Sister Toldjah wonders if they're out to get Allen West.

Legal Insurrection points out the "scorched earth" tactics of the Romney campaign. It's not pretty, folks. Not a bit.

Saberpoint likes Santorum and calls the Republican fisticuffs between Newt and Mittens "vicious, self-destructive, personal and bitter."

American Power thinks Sarah Palin is endorsing Newt (video at the link). I'm actually surprised; I'd have thought her to be more of a Santorum kind of gal.

Doug Ross checks out Occuy DC (with photos).

Wyblog posts on the mandatory contraceptive edict.

Herman Cain has endorsed Newt.

Global warming is out; Cycle 25 is IN.

Be sure to check out The State of Our Disunion at Political Clown Parade.

Mark Levin is very concerned about Romney's character.

Dan Riehl has analysis of Levin's comments.

All in all, this campaign has gone somewhere very ugly. It doesn't do any good to think about what could have been at this point but there's a lot of that going on inside my head. It does seem as if Mitt and Newt are eating each other alive and quite possibly Rick Santorum will be the last man standing.

Oh well. Much will be made of the Florida primary and let the chips fall where they may. ABO in 2012.

Here's Milly Rose dancing in the streets:

Loose Thoughts

2012-01-26T20:13:00.001-06:00

If you're looking for debate coverage you might head on over to Legal Insurrection or The Other McCain. I.Just.Can't. Meh.

I've been busy at work and real life. I tried to watch the State of the Union, got three minutes in, and had to bail. When Obama starts spewing crap about "fairness and equity" and how the "rich" should give "their fair share" I start seeing spiders and creepy crawling things in my head and my head starts to spin. I had to turn it off.

Speaking of SOTU, what did you think of Michelle's dress? I thought it was ill fitting but I'm no fashionista. You'll usually find me in blue jeans and a sweatshirt. I liked the color and I even liked the brooch, but I thought the straps crossing above the boobs looked weird. I didn't think it was tailored well for her. I've read some blogs that criticized her for dressing as if she was going to a cocktail party rather than a SOTU speech but that part doesn't bother me. I just didn't think the dress fit well. It's not exactly "for the common man," either, at an estimated $2,400. Not a Target dress.

Let them eat arugula.

Charles Krauthammer has some thoughts on the SOTU:

It sounded like the Clinton years with their presidentially proclaimed initiatives on midnight basketball and school uniforms. These are the marks of a shrunken presidency, thoroughly flummoxed by high unemployment, economic stagnation, crushing debt — and a glaring absence of ideas.

Of course, this being Obama, there was a reach for grandeur. Hope and change are long gone. It's now equality and fairness. That certainly is a large idea. Lenin and Mao went pretty far with it. As did Clement Attlee and his social-democratic counterparts in postwar Europe.

As for the Republicans, I'm sick of Newt and Romney going after each other. When are we going to go after the incumbent, eh? At this point I'd be just fine if they ate each other alive and Santorum came out on top.

Surfing the links I see that Bride of Rove is struggling with some of the same issues.

Pundette is expecting Newt Fatigue to hit at any time.

As for me, tomorrow is Friday. Centenary College will commemorate the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with a 12 hour loop screening of the testimony of local Holocaust survivors Rose and Louis Van Thyn. I'm going straight from work to see both of them. If you're around here I'd encourage you to go.

Speaking of the Holocaust, heck out this stunning poll (H/T: Mike).

Steve and I are headed to Minden on Saturday for the kickoff of Mardi Gras season; the Fasching Carnivale and parade will be the highlight of the day, plus some shopping with Milly Rose!

Oh, and I'm going to test drive a Jeep when we go, too! Yay!

Out.

McDonald's: NOT Lovin' It

2012-01-24T19:34:00.002-06:00

Let me tell you about my experience at McDonald's today. And before I do, I bet you have one to match or better it.

4:00 this afternoon.

I drive up to a local McDonald's franchise. The drive-thru is seven cars deep but I'm worn out, long day, and figure it will be an opportunity to check my email while I wait.

Eventually I am second in line at the order window. The car in front of me sits for, oh, maybe 7 minutes before pulling up. This is a long time at a drive-thru window. But when he advances, I pull up and stop at the window. And wait.

Wait.

Wait.

"Hellooooo?" I said. "Anybody there?"

Wait.

Wait.

"Is this thing working?"

Nothing.

"Hello?"

Nothing.

So I pull to the side. "What the hell," I think. Why not. I go .... inside.

It gets good here. When I walk inside there are five people at the counter and four are pissed off. On the other side of the counter there are two employees and one of them is bitching out a customer.

"Excuse ME, MA'AM, but would you like a REBATE? WHAT can I do for you NOW?! I'm SORRY if you not happy with your ORDER but WHAT do you want ME to do about it? MA'AM?!"

And this employee is wagging her head back and forth, hands on hips and using the most sarcastic tone you can imagine. The customer is a middle aged woman with a child who looked to be about 7 or 8.

Meanwhile, another customer has a half unwrapped burger in her hand and is hopping from one foot to the other waiting to get her issue settled; another customer is standing at the counter, "Am I going to get my order? I have to be at work! If it's not coming, I've got to go....".

A manager finally walks up.

"What's the trouble here?" She attempts to sort things out. She sends Miss Sarcastic back to the window (which is why she was not there to take my order) and attempts to restore order.

This does not last long because as the woman with the child attempts to explain what's wrong with her order to the manager, Miss Sarcastic comes back from the window with that head wagging thing again and this time she's pointing her finger.

If this girl worked for me she would have been fired on the spot. The manager, clearly frustrated, sends her back to the window.

Finally my order comes out (woman with child is still waiting for her plain hamburger, and woman that needs to get to work is still waiting).

My order is wrong. It's missing one of the two sandwiches. I give it back to the manager.

Woman with child gives up and takes her order the way it came and explains to her child that they'll just scrape off the offending ingredients. Woman who has to go to work is still waiting. More customers have stacked up behind us all. Meanwhile, Miss Sarcastic is working the window.

My order comes out a second time and it is still wrong but I don't have the heart to send it back. I just take it and leave. As I go, I notice that cars are stacked up twelve deep in the drive-thru.

So tell me why McDonald's is posting record profits?

Where's the civility? The customer service? The "home-training?"

So when The Teenager feels the need for fast food, I'll route him to Burger King or Wendy's from now on.

Got a similar story?

I've Paid My Debt to the Curmudgeon

2012-01-24T16:56:00.000-06:00

I've made good on my bet with the Curmudgeon and gone one better.

If you recall, we made our annual bet on the LSU-Bama game and LSU did not manage to pull a win out of the Mad Hatter's Hat. Bama steam rolled the Tigers.

Our bet was for $100 toward the Wounded Warrior Project.

In the "one better" tradition, (last time the bet was for a six pack of Sam Adams and the Curmudgeon went "one better" and paid up $100 to WWP), I've signed up for a monthly donation of $19, which comes to $228 a year. That's about two six packs of Sam Adams a month; I think I can spare that (and so can my waistline).

1/24/2012 5:40:27 PM EST

Dear Pat Austin,

Thank you for your generous donation to Wounded Warrior Project. Your gift enables us to provide comfort and aid to the wounded and families in need.

Your information is as follows.

Your Information

Name: Pat Austin

.....

Payment Information

Payment ID: 325776
Payment Type: CREDIT
Payment Date: 1/24/2012 5:40:27 PM EST
Donation Amount: 19

Wounded Warrior Project is a public charity as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Your gifts are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Please note your credit card will be charged $19 on or about the 20th of each month beginning next month.

Thank you again,

Wounded Warrior Project

Until next year, Curmudgeon!

Geaux Tigers!

Centenary to Screen Van Thyn Holocaust Testimonies Friday

2012-01-23T16:39:00.004-06:00

This Friday Centenary College and the Van Thyn lecture series will commemorate the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz:

The all-day event will honor the memory of local survivors Dr. Rose and Louis Van Thyn and feature a continuous screening of their video testimonies on their struggles during the Holocaust. The screening is free and open to the public and visitors may stop in throughout the day.

"Sadly, we will soon be in a world without any living Holocaust survivors to teach us about the dangers of hatred and intolerance," said Dr. Lisa Nicoletti, Professor of Art and Visual Culture. "Collections such as this one are vital to Holocaust remembrance and education. For the last decade, Dr. Rose with Louis by her side, regularly spoke on our campus about life before, during, and after the Holocaust. We miss them terribly."
What: Van Thyn Holocaust Testimony
When: Friday, January 27, 8:00 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
Where: Kilpatrick Auditorium, Smith Building
This showing marks the introduction of Centenary College as the first Shoah Foundation Visual History Collection in the state of Louisiana. The College will provide the public with free future access to these testimonies, which will be housed in Magale Library. The testimonies are from the archives of the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education.

Steven Speilberg created the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation in 1994 when he was inspired by his experience making Schindler’s List. The Institute aims to overcome prejudice, intolerance, and bigotry—and the suffering they cause—through the educational use of the Institute’s visual history testimonies that it gathers from survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust.

More here.

If you're not local and can't attend, I encourage you to listen to Rose's story here. I heard Rose deliver her testimony a few years ago; it's an amazing story and one I share with my students each year. While I've met Louis (he was always beside Rose when she spoke), I've never heard his full testimony so this will be an experience for me. These were two very special people.

Never forget.

(H/T: Nico)

At Least There Are No $16 Muffins Involved

2012-01-22T23:11:00.000-06:00

We all know that ObamaCare is awash in new regulations and bureaucracies. Here is just one more:

Embedded in ObamaCare is a toxic rule called the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. The Act requires all companies that manufacture medical products purchased by the government to disclose on a public website anything they give physicians valued above $10. Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued draft guidelines.

Wonder how many "jobs created" this one covers?

The Spin Begins

2012-01-22T18:51:00.001-06:00

My mother said to me the other day, "I'll be so glad when this election is OVER! It seems like it's been going on for a year!"

I hate to tell her, but it hasn't even started yet. We've only been dealing with the Republican primary so far. Just wait until the general election!

True, Obama has been campaigning for re-election since 2008, but only now are we beginning to see general election 2012 ads cropping up on television.

I've even seen a few "Obama 2012" stickers on a couple of cars in town. Whenever I see those bumper stickers I just can't fathom it. Given this man's record, how can anyone still support him? I tried to get Mr. SIGIS to explain it to me but he couldn't.

It's true that much of the population depends on the liberal mainstream media to inform them. Much of the general population just doesn't care - they hate politics and politicians and will vote however their editorial page tells them to vote. In truth, the number of political junkies like me (and you - you're reading this, aren't you?) are much lower in number than those who just vote blindly.

Yet still. Consider Obama's first campaign ad. Investor's Business Daily fact checks the energy statements in the ad:

The Obama re-election campaign is already shaping up as the most deceitful in American electoral history. "For the first time in 13 years our dependence on foreign oil is below 50%," the commercial declares, accompanied by goose-bumpy music.

Major economic downturns, in fact, unfailingly produce declines in oil imports. And so do higher gas prices — which went from an average of less than $2 a gallon at the time Obama took office to nearly $4 in the middle of last year and remain well above $3 today.

How could gasoline demand not drop with so many people out of work, businesses dying and jittery investors sitting on a trillion dollars?

Of course "our dependence on foreign oil" is lower. It's not because we're producing more domestically; we're not. It's because of the reasons stated above.

This is typical Obama spin.

It's sort of like saying "You will be able to keep your doctor," when ObamaCare was rammed down our throats. Sure, you'll be able to keep him as long as he's able to stay in practice but once ObamaCare really kicks in, he will probably pack his little black bag and fade into the sunset. Either that or he'll be so backlogged behind the deluge of patients waiting to see a doctor, any doctor, that you'll be a distant memory.

Deceitful.

"Oh," but you say, "All politicians do that!" And I won't argue that to some degree. I take issue with those as well.

Consider this from ABC News:

Turning to the economy, the ad hails “2.7 million Clean-Energy American Jobs,” citing a July report from the Brookings Institution, the suggestion being that Obama deserves credit for the employment in those industries.

But the Brookings report does not claim Obama created or maintained those jobs, just that 2.7 million exist in that sector – which encompasses a diverse array of roles and industries, including all of the nation’s mass transit workers (e.g. bus drivers).

But who's going to read the fine print?

Get ready for a long campaign, Mom. The lies and the spin are here to stay. I just hope voters care enough to decipher them and read between the lines. From both sides of the aisle.

The Keystone Kops Would Run America's Energy Policy Better Than Obama

2012-01-22T16:22:00.000-06:00

There's been much written in the past few days about Obama's disastrous Keystone decision. There is little doubt that Obama is simply punting on this decision and attempting to appeal to his environmental base. The thing you need to know about the Keystone decision is that the environmental threat doesn't exist and that Obama's own DOS cleared the way for it to go forward.

Jonah Goldberg:

The environmentalists to which Obama is pandering have an understandable, if at times irrational, fear of oil spills and a religious faith in the dangers of global warming. The only problem is that blocking the pipeline will, if anything, increase the likelihood of oil spills because Canada will still bring the oil to market.

The project has been studied for three years (much longer than the Solyndra bailout took) and to be sure would not be a project that creates new pipeline over virgin territory:

The Keystone pipeline had already been essentially cleared by environmental bureaucrats. Adding the pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf wouldn’t scar some pristine wilderness; it would be more like adding just one more string to a spider web, given how many pipelines already crisscross the region.

Take a good look at this map that shows all the pipelines running through the Ogallala Aquifer.

That's some 21,000 miles of pipeline there. Jonah Goldberg again:

Opponents say it would threaten the groundwater in Nebraska, where some 21,000 miles of pipeline already exist. But, as the American Enterprise Institute’s Kenneth Green notes, any spilled oil would have to flow uphill to reach the Ogallala Aquifer.

So you've got three things going on here that are all now debunked.

The first is that the big evil Republicans imposed an arbitrary deadline on the president forcing him to decide prematurely. Bunk:

The President’s claim that the State Department needs even more information before it can make a sound decision is equally ridiculous. State didn’t start reviewing the project last month when Congress set a sixty day deadline on making a decision. The review process has been going on for over three years now. The State Department has studied thousands of pages of detailed reports, data, maps and studies, and his issued thousands of pages of its own reports, including a massive eight volume environmental impact statement.

The President wants the public to believe that Congress imposed an arbitrary, impossibly short deadline on it. In fact, what Congress did was force the administration to end the years of dithering and an actual decision for a change. The President had more than enough information to make the right decision, but – sadly and all too predictably – he choose to appease the environmental fringe once more.

The second fallacy is that this pipeline would cross virgin territory and threaten previously unspoiled ground. Bunk. Look at the maps.

The third fallacy is that the administration needs more time and information. Bunk again. Obama's own State Department has already cleared the way for the pipeline to go forward:

DOS studied a number of alternative routes to minimize or completely avoid the pipeline crossing over Sand Hills. The department worked with the Bureau of Land Management and state agencies where the pipeline passes through and made more than 340 minor realignments to the pipeline route.

There is absolutely no reason to delay the entire project when DOS explicitly signed off on additional route variations that could occur throughout the construction process.

Clearly it is Obama, and not the Republicans, who are making this decision a political one. In fact, Obama phoned Prime Minister Stephen Harper to explain that the merits of the project were not the issue but that the evil Republicans are:

Obama called Prime Minister Stephen Harper to explain that the decision on Wednesday was not on the merits of the pipeline but rather on the “arbitrary nature” of a Feb. 21 deadline set by Republican legislators as part of a tax measure he signed, Harper’s office said.

Canada will grow weary of Obama's shenanigans and turn to China:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a telephone call yesterday, told Obama “Canada will continue to work to diversify its energy exports,” according to details provided by Harper’s office. Canadian Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said relying less on the U.S. would help strengthen the country’s “financial security.”

The “decision by the Obama administration underlines the importance of diversifying and expanding our markets, including the growing Asian market,” Oliver told reporters in Ottawa.

Why not? Brazil already has:

Less than a month after President Obama visited Brazil in March to make a pitch for oil, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was off to Beijing to sign oil contracts with two huge state-owned Chinese companies.

The deals are part of a growing oil relationship between the two countries that, thanks to a series of billion-dollar agreements, is giving China greater influence over Brazil’s oil frontier.

Obama has made it perfectly clear that he's not interested in developing United States energy reserves.

Mark Whittington:

Obama's policy in regard to oil and gas has been a study in incompetence driven by an ideological mania against hydrocarbon fuel in favor of more politically correct forms of energy production. This has not only led to what amounts to a campaign against oil and gas production in the U.S., but embarrassing scandals such as Solyndra, brought on by unwise federal loan guarantees to dubious green energy companies.

This is occurring at a time when Iran is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz through which much of the world's oil passes from Persian Gulf fields. The very threat has led to a spike in the price of oil and of gasoline.

Between shutting down the industry in the Gulf of Mexico for months, killing hundreds of jobs and auxiliary small businesses that go along with that, and now the Keystone decision, it's clear that Obama would rather tilt at windmills and solar panels.

So now we don't get Canada's oil, we don't get Brazil's oil, and we're stymied at nearly every turn in trying to get to our own oil (When's the last time you saw a rig in ANWR?).

Unbelievable.

(Photo/Map credit: PennWell MAPSearch)

In a Funk

2012-01-21T16:38:00.000-06:00

I've been in a funk.

It's not that I thought Rick Perry was a Perfect Candidate - he wasn't. It's not that I thought he was the second coming of Ronald Reagan. He definitely wasn't.

I'm just out of sorts with the process. When Rick Perry dropped out only Iowa and New Hampshire had voted. By the time Louisiana gets around to voting, we'll likely be down to just two candidates. 90% of the country won't get to vote for the candidate they want but will have to chose from the candidate a handful of states have deemed worthy.

Oh, I know, national polls and all that. I'm still just in a funk because I don't like any of the remaining candidates. I'll get over it.

If you are interested in the South Carolina primary, Stacy McCain is running some great coverage over there at The Other McCain, even if he is drinking a Blue Moon.

As for me, I engaged in some estate sale therapy to ease my woes. There was an estate sale in an old year 1921 home on Kings Highway today that was filled with gorgeous heavy antique furniture. I wasn't in the market for any of that but I picked up this pretty jadeite candy dish:

I love the creamy green color of jadeite. It's be great filled with chocolate covered espresso beans!

I also got this neat framed Remington print "Fight for the Waterhole." It'll look good in Steve's man-cave:

I also got a neat white and blue enamelware square piece with a lid. It's seen better days but I thought it was unusual and I wanted it:

It's about six or seven inches square.

My shopping didn't get me completely out of my funk but maybe the voters in South Carolina will cheer me up a little. I'm not sure how, but maybe.

Mittens in third place might do the trick.

Time to Stick My Head in the Oven

2012-01-19T16:42:00.001-06:00

Okay so we all saw Perry's big announcement today coming. You can't hang around in last place in the polls for too long before you become a drain on the whole system. I hate that Perry's bid played out the way that it did but what are you going to do? Wasn't his time.

Perry had improved a great deal since those first debates but maybe it was too little too late. I think also that too many people listened to Rick Perry and heard George W. Bush and they just aren't over Bush yet. Although I still think history will redeem Bush in the end. Somewhat.

So where to go from here?

Pundette has gone to Rick Santorum. Stacy McCain has been with Rick Santorum since Herman Cain dropped out. Legal Insurrection is still with Newt.

I don't know where I'm going right now.

To be honest, I just don't like any of them. I don't.

How can the Republican establishment have farked this up so badly? That's a rhetorical question - you don't have to answer it. It's because they're the Republican establishment. All this PR about "we really do have a strong field of candidates" is just crap. I don't even want to begin listing my grievances with these candidates. Not enough time and it's all been said.

Is it too late to get Michele Bachmann back?

I suspect that the Democrats are more afraid of Newt than anyone else and you can call me a conspiracy theorist if you want to but I think that's in part what pulled Marianne Gingrich back into the limelight. I don't think Team Obama wants to debate Newt.

And when in the hell did debating skills become a prerequisite for running for president, anyway? Speaking skills are important but so is executive experience, intelligence, foreign policy knowledge and experience, business acumen, character, integrity, and honor.

Coming into this election I've always said that "a dust bunny could beat Obama," because WTF is he going to run on? His record? His job killing, debt hiking, food stamp raising, partisan, scandal ridden record? Seriously?

But here's the Republican establishment about to hand it right back to him.

I'm going to stick my head in the oven. Maybe there's a beer in there. And a match.

(Cross posted at Not One Red Cent!)

Live-Blogging the South Carolina Debate UPDATED

2012-01-16T20:05:00.001-06:00

We're just getting started. Stay tuned.

Update 1: We begin with Newt trying to defend his negative attacks on Romney after vowing not to go negative. Romney defends by touting his private sector record. If an Olympics reference is on your bingo card, DRINK.

Update 2: A "vulture capitalism" question to Rick Perry. DRINK. Perry seems a little stiff. He's calling on Mitt to release his income tax records and gets applause. Perry calls for the repeal of Dodd-Frank and when he says we have way too many regulations in this country he gets lots of applause.

Romney gets a chance to respond but says he needs more than 30 seconds. Uh, okay.

Update 3: Romney: "You never want to see anyone lose a job." That ought to play well with his "I like to be able to fire people," comment. Context or not. Romney dodged the call for his tax records, by the way. Why is that? What's he hiding?

Update 4: Shift to Ron Paul who comes out swinging on Santorum by explaining he couldn't hit Santorum on everything he wanted to in one single ad. Ouch. Santorum says he voted for NCLB and "I shouldn't have." On right to work, Santorum says he supports it.

Juan Williams asks Santorum if "barbed personal attacks" should be abandoned. Dumb question. Santorum hits Romney with question about a negative ad his PAC ran. Romney dodges the question from Santorum and says "We've got plenty of time, I'll get to it when I want to." The crowd is applauding Santorum who is really drawing blood here. "It's MLK day!" he says. The question is about felons being allowed to vote. "I don't believe that people who have committed violent crimes should be allowed to vote again," Romney says.

Santorum calls him on it. Bam!

Santorum is relentless on this and Mitt is stuttering.

Update 5: Perry just stuck them both by pointing out that the "Washington insiders" need to get out of it and let the states decide. Applause.

Update 6: Fox sets Romney up give a summary of his "conservative" positions. He's pro-life, he says, against gay marriage, believes in freedom and free enterprise, on and on and on. Oh, and not a flip-flopper. Yeah, okay.

Juan to Perry on the voter ID law in South Carolina. Are you suggesting on this MLK day that the federal government should not scrutinize the voting laws in states where blacks were once denied the right to vote?

Perry's response is that the federal government should stay out of it and pulls the right to work issue into it as well. He says this administration is at war against religion too, for that matter. Strong answer by Perry, I think. "South Carolina is at war against the federal government." Huge applause, too.

Update 7: When asked how long someone should be able to draw unemployment checks, Newt says it should all be tied to a training program. "99 weeks is an Associates Degree!" he says, to applause. Newt just called Obama "the food stamp president." Heh!

Update 8: Romney: our tax rates are too high and regulations too burdensome. We have an energy policy that doesn't take advantage of our natural resources. This president has opened no new markets around the world. Bailouts aren't the answer.

To Ron Paul a defense cuts question: "what do you say to people in this state" that worry that your positions will cost jobs? Paul says we would not be weaker under his policies and says he gets lots of donations from active military. "There's a difference between military spending and defense spending," Paul points out. Building embassies is not defense spending "it's waste," he says.

What is the highest federal income tax any American should have to pay?
Flat tax - Perry
25% - Romney
15% - Newt
0% - Ron Paul

Question to Mitt: "Will you release your income tax records?" Romney says he looked at what other candidates like Bush and Reagan did, they released in April. He'll probably do that in April, then. He's stammering on this a bit. "What's happened in history is that people released them in April and that's what I'll probably do."

Update 9: Why is every question from Juan Williams race related? He's asking Ron Paul now about disparate numbers between arrested blacks and whites.

Next he goes to Newt and asks if he could be perceived as anti-black. "Only the elites despise earning money," he says. Juan says people of all races ask him if Newt's comments are "anti-poor." Juan gets boo'd. "It sounds as if you're trying to belittle people," when you use the term "food stamp president," Juan says. Newt schools him on political correctness and using uncomfortable facts. The crowd stands and applauds.

Juan should be under the desk about now.

Update 10: Ron Paul gets to spend a long time rambling about his foreign policy position. He sounds nuts.

Newt is strong on the Bin Laden question - "He's not a Chinese dissident!"; in other words, you kill your enemies.

Going to Romney after Paul only makes Romney sound more sensible. A run over dog would sound more sensible than Ron Paul when he gets cranked up on "all these WARS!!!"

Mitt says we "absolutely not" negotiate with the Taliban. "We should not negotiate with the Taliban, we should defeat the Taliban!"

Update 11: Rick Santorum does not support a military mission into Syria but wants the international community to help remove Assad.

To Rick Perry: "Does Turkey still belong in NATO?"

He advocates cutting foreign aid to zero. "Our president has a foreign policy that makes our allies very nervous and emboldens our enemies." I'm not sure he answered that question, exactly.

Perry has mentioned his military service several times in this debate. Somehow the marine urination video comes up here. He blasts Biden for calling those Marines despicable, and he says "Let me tell you what is despicable: cutting Danny Pearl's head off" is despicable. Hanging our contractors from bridges is despicable, he says. Applause. Perry suggests that this administration has strong disdain for our military.

Update 12: When asked if he would have signed the national defense act as written, Mitt says yes. He gets boo'd.

Pivot to the housing market - Perry basically says to get the federal government out of it.

To Newt - a Social Security question. The Chilean model comes back out.

Update 13: Santorum and Newt duke it out on Social Security. Santorum calls Newt's privatization "irresponsible" right now. Newt defends the personal savings account model. Draw.

Romney agrees with Santourm: "Rick is right," he says.

Update 14: A gun owners question for Romney from Juan. No race baiting on this one. "How can you convince gun owners you will be an advocate for them?" Mitt says he's signed pro-gun legislation in his state. He disagrees with new legislation and does not believe in new laws restricting gun use and gun owners. Juan asks Mitt if he's gone hunting since '07. Yep - elk hunting, he says. Heh - Romney says Rick Perry is probably a more serious hunter than he is. Perry agrees.

Update 15: Santorum attacks Ron Paul on gun liability. Sigh.

Woah. Newt just jabbed Romney saying if he can't control his SuperPAC "it makes you wonder how much influence he would have as president." Random.

Final update: We end with Romney disavowing SuperPacs and Perry vowing to secure the border. Who won this one? Man. Tough one. They all had strong moments. To my mind, though, this is the first time Romney took any hits. Perry continues to improve. Newt was strong as was Santorum.

Glad it's over.

Heigh ho - there's another damn debate this week! Thursday? Good grief.

Leaves and Acorns

2012-01-16T16:55:00.000-06:00

<------- is what I did yesterday and today. I raked up 17 bags of leaves (and acorns), filled two trashcans with sticks, pruned three crape myrtle trees and blew of the driveway twice.

As I was raking today the acorns were falling so fast it sounded like popcorn in a microwave. Like hail hitting the cars.

Meh.

Time for a beer.

Debate Prep

2012-01-16T15:15:00.001-06:00

Another day, another Republican debate. This time from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Watch live here. The moderators will be Bret Baier of Fox News' 'Special Report' and Gerald Seib of the Wall Street Journal. Kickoff: 9 ET, 8:00 SIGIS time.

SIGIS will be live-blogging, of course. Professor Jacobson will be covering at his place, too.

In the meantime, here's your debate prep:

We are down to five now that Huntsman has bowed out. Michael D. Shear and NYT has What to Watch for in Tonight's Debate.

Nate Silver has a poll analysis and says Romney is it.

Newt says he can unite Republicans.

Senator Jim DeMint won't endorse but he does predict Romney wins S.C.

South Carolina state Senator Tom Davis has endorsed Ron Paul.

Christian conservative leaders have gone with Rick Santorum although there are now cries that the vote was rigged.

Rick Perry joins the chorus of those who want Mitt Romney to release his tax returns.

Cognitive Disonance will have Bingo cards for the debate up shortly.

As for me, as long as there are no long dissertations on contraceptives again, I guess it'll all be a win.

Live-blogging later, folks.

"Are You Better off Today Than You Were Four Trillion Dollars Ago?"

2012-01-16T14:04:00.000-06:00

Rick Perry filed a great performance Saturday night at the second Huckabee forum in South Carolina.

I particularly liked this segment:

The polls are not favoring Perry, of course, although some polls have Perry making gains ahead of Santorum in South Carolina this week.

Pundette is still on the Perry bandwagon:

His limited-government message, with his impressive record as Texas governor to back it up, should appeal to conservatives who understand the terrible mess we're in.

I'm still there, too. So he had some poor debates...he's more than made up for those in his most recent performances. Perry's record in Texas is more consistent and conservative than Romney's record; Santorum's conservatism can't stack up to Perry's, and Newt has so many issues I find myself wondering why he's still polling so high.

It's time for people to take a second look at Perry before it's too late. The media has already anointed Romney as the nominee. That's enough to give me pause. Team Obama's obvious glee in a Romney nomination is enough to stop me in my tracks.

Rick Perry is the leader we need to get us out of this mess. No doubt in my mind.

Pajamas in Public

2012-01-16T08:32:00.001-06:00

How concerned are you that you might go to your local CVS or Target and find some person in their pajamas walking the aisles? Is this a big concern for you?

It is to District 3 Caddo Commissioner Michael Williams:

Caddo Parish District 3 Commission Michael Williams said it was an incident at a local Walmart that offended him and some elderly customers that spurred him to push for an ordinance that would prohibit wearing pajama pants in public."I saw a group of young men wearing pajama pants and house shoes," he said. "At the part where there should have been underwear," his private parts were showing through the fabric.

Offensive? You bet. Nanny state? Yep. Trying to legislate common sense? Absolutely.

Passing a law like this might put the People of Walmart site out of business.

Of course the ACLU has already come out against the proposed ordinance:

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana released a letter from Executive Director Marjorie R. Esman Friday afternoon, saying “clothing is a form of expression protected under the Constitution of the United States.”

I agree with Commissioner Williams that this is inappropriate behavior but I have concerns about legislating things like this. We've all seen the sagging pants and I remember the discussion when a no-sagging ordinance was passed: many people insisted it was just a passing fad and would go away on its own. (It hasn't.) Others said the ordinance was "profiling" and would target certain groups. (It didn't). Overall, the sagging ordinance in Shreveport has resulted in 31 misdemeanor charges since it was passed in 2011.

Is this a sign of an overall decline in America? Inconsideration of others? Or is it just poor "home-training?" Laziness?

I'm reminded of my mother and grandmother who would never consider going out shopping without stockings and gloves on. You dressed to go downtown! What would grandmother think of the young mother with three kids going to Walmart in her Family Guy pjs and slippers to buy PopTarts?

Since we already have indecency laws on the books, possibly we should just consider going with that one if some guy wants to go to Walmart with his junk exposed.

Added: After I posted this I went to Super One (local supermarket) and lo and behold...a gentleman about 50 or so was walking with a young child through the grocery store. He was wearing a fur hat, a white crew neck t-shirt, and cartoon print black pajama pants with his slide on fuzzy slippers.

Photo credit: Mike Silva - The Shreveport Times

Full Metal Jacket Reach Around: The Good Friends, Good Times Edition

2012-01-14T18:21:00.001-06:00

We're lounging around today just watching football and snacking on football-watching-food; the Saints are having a tough time with the 49ers. The second half just started. Mr. SIGIS yells at the TV a lot when we watch sports. The World Series nearly did him in.

We went to Hangar 2 on base last night; it was a light crowd (holiday weekend) so our DJ friend, Larry, played lots of Jerry Jeff Walker for us in anticipation of our February date to see him. It's a nice bar, Hangar 2, and one of those places where we have good friends and have good times. That's our "bar-guard," Joy, pictured left. She makes a mean beef Thai salad!

That said, we were home early and I got up this morning, hit a couple of estate sales, then went to my mom's. The rest of the day has been fairly lazy.

Let's look at some links:

We'll start off with my currently featured blog, Andy's Place. I can't explain why but his latest video made me laugh until I nearly cried. Goofy as shit! I loved it so much I even made Mr. SIGIS watch it and he laughed too.

Doug Ross has Obama's new campaign poster.

Legal Insurrection's Saturday Night Card game is up.

American Power has video of Liz Cheney blasting Obama's defense cuts.

Smitty has a little video of John Wayne on liberals. Stacy McCain thinks it's time for Rick Perry to get out of the race.

Fuzzy is on a rant and reminds us all to keep our focus.

Pirate's Cove has a bleak outlook for all those green ventures.

Althouse celebrates 8 years.

Bride of Rove is reading Steyn's After America has has thoughts.

Reaganite Republican ponders the consequences of a third-party run.

Pundette explains Stephanopoulous's strange obsession with contraceptives at the NH debate.

Ed Driscoll has a totally depressing post about a world with no bookstores or video stores.

Sarah continues to live with a black cloud above her but manages to make it hilarious all the same.

And that's a wrap. The Saints are stressing me out. Here's a little Jerry Jeff Walker for you: love this song:

Happy Valentine's Day, Jerry Jeff!

2012-01-12T17:20:00.003-06:00

Yay!

We just got our tickets to see Jerry Jeff Walker in February at Sam's Town!

Yay!

L.A. Freeway, baby!

Thank You Senator Peacock!

2012-01-11T16:59:00.001-06:00

Back in October I endorsed Barrow Peacock for Louisiana Senate 37 in his race against term limited Rep. Jane Smith and I took some heat on this blog for it in the comments:

Thankfully, people do not take stock in what a low traffic blogger has to say about politics. Your bias against Representative Smith discredits you as a viable source of anything other then ignorant opinions.

I have to say, we at SIGIS enjoyed the give and take on that one! (It got worse from there.) Heh!

Mr. Peacock won that race and this week he showed his constituents why we voted for him. He was the lone vote against John Alario for Senate president.

John Alario has served as an elected politician for 41 years now; thirty-seven of those years he served as a Democrat until he decided it would be politically expedient to switch to Republican. I wrote about Governor Jindal's outrageous support of Alario in late October.

John Alario was quite open at the time of his party switch about the fact that the switch was motivated by political expediency.

From my American Thinker article in November:

Alario was elected to the House in 1972, was term-limited in 2007, and decided to run for the Senate. His primary goal was to serve as Senate president. As Alario said:
"Whether I'm a Democrat or Republican or the Whig party, I'd like to be president of the Senate," Alario said. Switching parties "certainly plays into the politics of the situation ... it doesn't hurt to be in that party."

If this happens, Alario will become the second politician in Louisiana history to be president of both chambers, but to attain that objective, he needed to change parties, after 37 years, from Democrat to Republican.

At any rate, the election has come to pass. Alario has been elected and as demanded by his constituents, Senator Barrow Peacock was the lone vote against him:

The lone vote against Alario was cast by Sen. Barrow Peacock, R-Shreveport. He said after the housekeeping legislative session at the inauguration that he promised his conservative district during the campaign that he would vote against Alario. "It was a campaign issue in District 37," Peacock said.

Senator Peacock chose to stand up against career politicians and the good ol' boy system.

The only question now is will he be punished with a sorry committee assignment or ostracized by the system?

SIGIS thanks Senator Peacock for his courage in taking a stand and for honoring his promises. This is the kind of politician we need - one who recognizes he is a public servant, not there to feed from the taxpayer trough for 41+ years.

Loose Thoughts

2012-01-10T17:02:00.001-06:00

I've just got some quick links this afternoon. Too much going on in real life right now: the new semester started and I'm working on getting my new kids settled and accustomed to the routine of M205. This takes lots of planning, even after 16 years. On top of that, we lost a friend to cancer this week (only 46!) and that's been sad. The debacle in New Orleans didn't help last night, either.

For New Hampshire results, stay with Legal Insurrection tonight. I'm not too interested in NH for some reason. Any state that rates Jon Huntsman that high has got to have issues. Not to alienate my NH friends, but..., well, maybe it's just everything else going on. I just can't drum up the enthusiasm. Might just be the crop of candidates in general. Who knows.

Didn't Christopher get whacked in the sixth season of The Sopranos?

Erick Erickson still has hope for Rick Perry. As do I, but it looks grim. Like LSU in the third quarter last night.

Pundette's "disordered thoughts" are so totally not disordered.

Why wasn't Johnny Depp on the WH visitor's log?

I'm going to curl up with a book and nurse my wounds. Behave yourselves.

Live-Blogging the New Hampshire Debate

2012-01-07T19:59:00.003-06:00

Start up in a couple of minutes.

Update 1: You can watch on ABC's site if you've got NFL on your TV!

Mitt comes out swinging on Obama blaming him for the jobless rate. Santorum points to Iran as "the most pressing issue today," but I'd bet all those jobless people think the economy is the most pressing issue.

Newt defends free enterprise.

Stephanopoulos questions Mitt's jobs created numbers.

Huntsman says his record in Utah is better than Perry's in Texas. Why is he going after Perry who is floundering in the polls? Romney says having jobs experience is necessary to creating jobs (something Obama wouldn't know about).

Ron Paul rises to Stephanopoulos's bait and goes after Rick Santorum as a "big government person."

Santorum: "I'm a conservative, I'm not a libertarian." Defends his record as protecting the interests of his state. Ron Paul comes back and accuses Santorum again of being a big government person.

Is Rick Perry here?

Update 2: Ah, here comes Perry. After the Ron Paul/Rick Santorum bickering, Perry cites too much Washington insider experience; Perry says with the exception of Huntsman, he's probably the only outsider in the race.

Ron Paul attacks Santorum for voting to increase the national debt. Santorum is on shaky ground, I think, trying to defend increasing the debt ceiling.

Diane Sawyer jumps in with a national security question. She goes to Huntsman with a question on Iran. "Why would you be better as commander in chief than anyone else on this stage," she asks. Huntsman says his was the best managed state in America and he created jobs. It's all about trust, he says. Americans don't trust their leaders anymore.

Sawyers continues the baiting and offers Huntsman the chance to go after "someone on this stage," but he refuses.

Same question to Romney who says that anyone can do better than Obama. He cites Obama's total lack of experience upon election and he's made one error after another. He's blasting Obama on his Iran policy. "This is a failed presidency."

Romney refuses to attack his fellow candidates.

To Perry: "Do you believe that having worn the uniform of our country better prepares you" to be president? Perry says yep and then pivots back to Iran. You cannot cut one trillion dollars from America's defense budget and believe that we won't be compromised, he says. Obama simply doesn't understand the military. Excellent answer.

Newt cites his father's military service and his experience growing up in a military family. About veterans, Newt says, "I feel for veterans."

Ron Paul comes after Newt for his military deferments and Newt gets rankled. Accuses Paul of being dishonest. "Newt: I wasn't eligible for the draft."

Paul gets asked about the newsletters and he says it has already been explained.

Ron Paul turns this question into some civil rights, Rosa Parks moment and says blacks are disproportionately arrested and sent to death row. The drug laws are "unfairly enforced" he says.

Commercial.

Update 3: Why in the world are they spending so much time on the right to contraceptives?

This debate doesn't seem to be firing well; the candidates are seldom sure what the question is and end up answering about whatever topic they want to answer.

Diane Sawyer tries to lead them into the gay marriage issue. Huntsman is all for civil unions which "add dignity" to a relationship. Romney stands by his position that marriage is between a man and a woman. He says children will be better off if they're raised in a setting with a male and a female.

Newt seems disgusted that they've spent so much time on "these issues," and takes off on media bias and the Catholic church.

Did Romney just say that John Adams wrote the Constitution? Hunh?

Update 4: Santorum gets schooled by Ron Paul for interrupting him. I don't mean to be petty, really, but I could not stand four years of listening to Ron Paul's whiny voice.

Ah. Perry is still here. On third party candidates, Perry rejects that question and opts to answer someone else's gay marriage question. He blasts this administration for its war on religion.

Jon Huntsman says the Taliban is no longer in power. For now.

Newt runs through all of the foreign policy pitfalls that lie ahead and paints a scary picture.

Santorum fires back at Obama on foreign policy; the moderators continue to bait the candidates against each other. The candidates need to reject the baiting and stay focused on Obama.

Update 5: Perry says he would sent troops back into Iraq. Ooops. He says "this president just wants to cowtow to his liberal leftist base." He says Iran will move back in and all our efforts will have been done for nothing.

That won't help him in the polls any.

Newt says if you're worried about the Iranians in Iraq then deal with Iran. Good point.

I'm not loving this debate. No questions on Fast 'n Furious; little discussion of the economy. Baiting and pitting the candidates against each other.

Update 6: Mitt Romney hasn't taken any hits at all tonight.

Diane Sawyer is warming up to a jobs question about investing in infrastructure and economic growth. Yawn...Romney is all for it. Like, who wouldn't be? He points out that government doesn't create jobs.

I'm sure Perry is itching to get in on this question. After his send troops back to Iraq bomb, he needs to do some damage control.

Newt says you can't compete with China if you don't have a decent infrastructure. He supports and energy program that breaks us free from foreign oil and would invest some of those proceeds to infrastructure.

Huntsman is off on the tax code tangent and supports Simpson-Bowles.

Romney suggests we are "only inches away from no longer being a free economy." The middle class has been hurt in the Obama economy, he says. Simpson-Bowles becomes Bowles-Simpson under Mitt Romney, who also supports it but does not support raising capital gains taxes.

Rick Perry is being ignored again. Still. Huntsman is getting much more airtime than Perry.

Update 7: Perry finally throws himself into the debate by answering a question when not called upon. He spins off his "get America workin' again" spiel and gets applause.

Huntsman seems to be getting more air time than anyone else.

Romney rejects a question from the moderator and blasts the moderators, gently, about not being focused on the important issues, like the fate of America. He's off on an apparently untimed speech about what America needs and how we don't need to be like Europe. He's hammering Obama pretty eloquently. Score for Mitt.

Mitt gets applause at the end of his speech.

Update 8: Newt tries to land some hits on Romney saying Romney's plan is a little cautious and not as bold as his own.

Santorum seconds that.

Santorum rejects the term "middle-class" and says there are "no classes in America." Hunh? His bigger point is about not waging class warfare but it is awkwardly stated.

Romney blasts Obama for not opening up trade; he's defending his growth plan and insists it is bolder than they give him credit for. Cites his business experience and his knowledge of regulations. He steals Rick Perry's line and says he will "get America workin' again."

Shocker. Back to Huntsman. More air time than anyone so far.

Update 9: Romney interrupts Huntsman and says uh, excuse me, but you were working for Obama, dude. China is hacking into our systems, manipulating their currency, stealing patents from us, and you were right there. Ouch. If I'm president I'm not going to spend my time talking about how great China is.

If you're playing the drinking game you just got the jackpot - Huntsman responded in Chinese. Oh.My.God.

Update 10: Close and wrap up now. What else would you be doing if you were here tonight, is the question. Perry: At the shooting range. Newt: watching football. Same for Santorum. Ron Paul would be reading an economic textbook. Huntsman would be on the phone with his two sons in the US Navy.

Thankfully this horrid debate is over. Too full of non-issues and too full of candidate baiting. Nobody laid a glove on Romney, Perry was ignored, Huntsman got way too much air time for a non-contender nationally. Santorum seemed a bit stiff and off his game. Maybe that's just him, though.

When the highlight of the debate is Huntsman's Chinese, well, hell. It's not good.

Romney came off good when he blasted Huntsman for defending China and for his service for Obama.

I rather missed Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann.

If you care, there's another debate on Meet the Press tomorrow. I think I'll be skipping that one. I've had enough.

Back to the Saints game now.

Did Rush Limbaugh Endorse Rick Perry?

2012-01-07T15:04:00.001-06:00

Did Rush Limbaugh come close to endorsing Rick Perry yesterday?

You be the judge:

Let me tell you something, folks: I wouldn't have one ounce of doubt about Rick Perry. I've been hoping Rick Perry would catch fire, but I have people in my sphere who don't want to vote for Perry (and largely they're women) because he sounds too much like Bush.

Not an endorsement but darned close.

Limbaugh cites Perry's record in Texas and his tax policy as pluses, and insists debating skills and "electability" should have nothing to do with picking the most conservative candidate we can.

By the way, it's debate night again. I'll be covering the debate here.

On Those Recess Appointments...

2012-01-05T16:57:00.001-06:00

Look people, the argument that George W. Bush (or anyone else for that matter) also made recess appointments misses the fact that the Senate is not actually in recess. Moral relativism is a weak argument anyway but you've at least got to keep the facts straight if you're going to try it.

Krauthammer made this point yesterday:

The president is saying: “I won’t let Congress stop me.” But it’s in the Constitution that you have to have the Senate’s approval… He [the president] can only make a recess appointment if the Senate is in recess. It is not in recess.

In fact, his own Justice Department argued last year before the Supreme Court that the Senate has to be out of session for three days. It has not been. And that appeal was based on a ruling of the Clinton Justice Department–three days.

You can appoint anybody you want in a recess appointment. You can appoint anybody who has already been rejected by the Senate. You can appoint anybody you want as a way to make a purely cynical political point in election year in Ohio, as Obama is doing. But you can’t do it as a recess appointment if the Senate is not in recess.

And Bloomberg:

The White House called these “recess appointments,” eventhough Congress technically wasn’t in recess. In doing so, thepresident is playing with fire. He risks an election-year legalchallenge that could hamstring the consumer bureau and severalother financial regulators whose pending confirmations willprobably now stall. The president’s authority -- and that offuture executives -- to fill administration posts without Senateapproval may be limited by the courts. We think Obama risks toomuch to make what is largely a political point -- that he, morethan the Republican Party stands by American workers andconsumers.

John Yoo (H/T Pundette):

This, in my view, is not up to the president, but the Senate. It is up to the Senate to decide when it is in session or not, and whether it feels like conducting any real business or just having senators sitting around on the floor reading the papers. The president cannot decide the legitimacy of the activities of the Senate any more than he could for the other branches, and vice versa.

Is the president going to have the authority to decide if the Supreme Court has deliberated too little on a case? Does Congress have the right to decide whether the president has really thought hard enough about granting a pardon? Under Obama’s approach, he could make a recess appointment anytime he is watching C-SPAN and feels that the senators are not working as hard as he did in the Senate (a fairly low bar).

And one more: Allahpundit:

Even if there’s a constitutional argument to be made in Obama’s defense, that argument isn’t available to Democrats. They used pro forma sessions, successfully, to block Bush; the only way to square that circle is to argue that the GOP is being more obstructionist than they were, to the point where other branches are now free to ignore separation-of-powers provisions in the Constitution in order to break the impasse.

Obama is off the rails here. Off the track. Jumped the shark. FUBAR.

Back to Regular Programming

2012-01-04T19:54:00.000-06:00

I'm back at work now - we had inservice today and the kids come tomorrow so my blogging will be light for a day or two. Some quick links to check out:

On Obama's recess appointments - check out Doug Ross:

In other words, through his blatantly lawless activities, the President has initiated a Constitutional crisis.

And we all know that if a Republican President had even publicly considered this option, legacy media would be beating the war-drums for impeachment.

It's high time the clueless John Boehner and Mitch McConnell started playing hardball. Real hardball. Impeachment-style hardball. Heaven knows, there are enough charges to impeach five or six presidents at this point.

This is a big deal, folks, but you won't likely hear much about it from the legacy media. If there's a Republican candidate worth his salt he'll take this drum and bang it through the election.

Professor Jacobson has something to say about the appointments as well.

Speaking of elections, check out Pundette's coverage of Rick Perry's indecision; and ironically, it's the second reference to "Casey at the Bat" that I've heard today (on totally unrelated stories).

Stacy McCain had terrific coverage of the caucuses last night.

Obama felt the need to speak to Iowa Democrats last night in a weirdly sketchy video feed; he's trying to reinvigorate his base from four years ago:

"[O]ne of the things that we learned four years ago was that when people at grassroots level are getting involved and they're getting engaged, and they're feeling empowered and they're joining hands with each other -- that's a powerful force," the president said.

A group at "grassroots level" is empowering and wonderful as long as they're for him; if it's the Tea Party, well, that's something else again...

Donald Douglas has his own ideas about Michele Bachmann's collapse.

Hang in there. I'm busy getting to know 65 new sophomores and teaching them the lay of the land in room M205, but I'll be back online shortly.

Iowa Caucus Day: News, Aggregation and Updates

2012-01-03T10:56:00.000-06:00

Scroll for updates throughout the day.

Iowans are heading out to the caucuses tonight. The weather is beautiful and should not be a factor in keeping folks from going out. The governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad said on Fox News this morning that he is expecting record turnout.

One thing to remember about Iowa is that the percentage of people that go out and caucus is relatively small. I have several family members in various parts of Iowa and I asked them about the phone calls and the caucuses. Only one of them even knows anyone who actually goes to caucus. All of them have been barraged by phone calls and most of those have been robocalls. The robocalls are not particularly effective: it's easier to hang up on a computer than to a person. As for support for a particular candidate, I got a variety of answers, including undecideds.

That is the thing about this particular caucus event, I think, that is interesting. There are so many undecideds. This thing could be a blowout for one candidate or a photo finish among three. Who knows?

Throughout the day I'll be posting updates and linking to others who are covering the event.

Legal Insurrection is doing the same thing and he will have a live event tonight.

Stacy McCain has been traveling through Iowa with the Santorum camp and he has terrific coverage and photos.

Real Clear Politics has an Iowa Caucus Primer on how the process works.

Here is Rick Perry's latest ad hammering Rick Santorum on earmarks. Effective or no?

Stay tuned for updates.

If you're blogging the caucuses, let me know and I'll link you.

Update 1: Yet another reason why the caucuses are so unpredictable:

Update 2: Pirate's Cove has analysis of what comes after Iowa. I don't necessarily agree with this, but we shall see:

By Wednesday, we could see Bachmann and Perry out, though they say they are going to South Carolina and bypassing New Hampshire. Santorum should survive. When it comes to Newt and Paul, we’ll have to see.

It will be interesting to see if the surge of volunteers that arrived Friday in support of Rick Perry pays off. Also, Perry has the cash to stay in for a while. I don't think Iowa will be his Waterloo.

Update 3: Megyn Kelly is broadcasting today from the Iowa state capitol building. It's one of the most beautiful state capitol buildings I've ever seen. Here's a YouTube video someone shot of the inside.

And, speaking of looking past Iowa, the GOP brain trust is already considering VP candidates:

While over a dozen names were suggested by the strategists, some with the campaigns, four top the list: South Dakota Sen. John Thune and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, both surrogates for Romney, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the most talked-about Hispanic in Washington, and former Secretary of State Condi Rice.

Others receiving multiple votes were Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

"Romney is likely to have to go right," said one former Bush aide. "He'll need somebody to generate enthusiasm from the base. Rubio fits the bill."

What do you think? They're writing off Santorum as the nominee, obviously, as assuming it's Mittens even before a single vote is cast.

Update 4: The Des Moines Register has a handy guide and graphic to keep a vote tally. But...notice the ad at the top of the page. A glimpse of what is to come:

Update 5: Rush Limbaugh replayed the audio of Perry's smack down of Mike Allen. "This is NOT somebody stupid," he said. Rush said, "I LIKE Rick Perry!" Rick Perry makes him smile, he says. Rush also said he LOVES Rick Santorum and says that any of these contenders would be great. (Even Ron Paul?)

The Perry camp is fired up. He gave a motivational speech to his volunteers this morning:

“This election is about stopping a president of the United States and his administration that is abusing the Constitution of this country, that is putting America on a track to bankruptcy, and folks, we’re going to take America back. That’s what this is about,” Perry told the crowd as it gave him a standing ovation. “It is a powerful moment in America’s history, and you are on the front lines.”

Of course, then he compared it to Omaha beach which is, I think, an unfortunate comparison. He's trying to make the case that this is historic, critical even. Considering the catastrophic losses on D-Day, this might be an overreach.

Update 6: Ed Rollins, talking to Shepard Smith on Fox, says Michele Bachmanm will come in last tonight (no organization and no money, he says) and that the winners will be Romney and Ron Paul. Santorum has momentum "but no organization" he says. When asked about Rick Perry, Rollins says if Perry comes in 4th, he actually stands the best chance to challenge Romney because of his money and organization. Perry may come in first or second in South Carolina. "His campaign is very alive," he says. Rollins says Perry has done a much better job than people recognize. He doesn't see much for Santorum after Iowa.

As for Newt, Rollins says Newt isn't raising money and is going to have a hard time in New Hampshire.

Rollins predicts Ron Paul will stay in the race to the end and should be treated with respect, but there's no path to the win for him.

Update 7: Ouch. Stacy McCain:

"...the Perry campaign is a lamentable joke here in Iowa. I’ve been talking to experienced Iowa Republicans during my travels the past week, and experienced observers are united in the opinion that Perry has wasted millions of dollars on a campaign that has done him more harm than good."

Stacy is, of course, in the Santorum camp and is not a Perry fan as you can tell.

Update 8: Left Coast Rebel has a live-updating event going on as well.

On Fox, Shep Smith talks to Debbie Wasserman Schultz who says the Republican field is "interchangeable" and "lackluster". Shep points out Obama's broken promises and DSW says that is "simply not true." She says he ended the Iraq war which was one of his promises. He passed Obamacare, she says, yet Shep points out it isn't a single payer system that the base wanted.

The woman is delusional. She says Obama has turned the economy around and that unemployment is declining. The Republicans have embraced the Tea Party and "out right winged each other" throughout the campaign.

She says Obama will win "handily."

Silly.

Update 9: Today's Gallup poll:

Update 10: Rick Santorum's sweater vest is the new fashion icon. You too can have a sweater vest:

Update 11: Rick Perry's just released video:

(H/T: Pundette)

Update 12: One of our local news stations is conducting its own "caucus," sort of like the Drudge Caucus, I guess. The results so far?

Update13: Michelle Malkin has a great Iowa caucus day post.

Phew. Are you ready? There are an estimated 614,000 active registered Republicans in Iowa. A small fraction of them will turn out tonight to vote in the first-in-the-nation GOP presidential caucus. The anticipated top three placers are a toss-up. Sunday’s PPP poll had it 20/19/18 for Paul, Romney and Santorum.

She links to Stacy McCain's Santorum coverage. Both Malkin and Stacy are NOT Rick Perry fans which might explain why they don't link me. (Just kidding - Stacy has linked me often in the past. It's been a while since I got a Malkin link.)

Update 14: Rick Perry gets emotional during a speech today praising America's veterans:

Perry was joined on Tuesday by supporter Dan Moran, a Marine veteran who suffered third-degree burns on his body from a bomb explosion in Afghanistan. Perry, a former Air Force pilot, commended Nationwide for its focus on hiring veterans before turning to Moran.

“He understands the importance of selfless … selfless sacrifice,” Perry said with a pause, wiping a tear from his left eye.

Emotion.

Update 15: As the caucus results come in, here is a live, interactive map. And remember, Professor Jacobson will be hosting a live event. SIGIS will continue posts as well. The Des Moines Register also has a place where you can watch results come in but you have to put up with all the Obama advertising on the page.

Update 16: Here is a timeline of the upcoming primaries. Next event: January 10 - New Hampshire.

Update 17: I'm closing out this post now and heading over to Legal Insurrection to participate in his live event. Follow me over there. And thanks for stopping by this post today! I appreciate it.

Caucus Crash Course

2012-01-02T21:48:00.000-06:00

If you're wondering how the Iowa caucuses work, The Washington Times has a primer for you:

Only registered Republicans may participate, but with an ID that shows Iowa residency and age, voters can register at door, allowing for crossover participation. Democrats are known to have switched sides, if only for a night, to caucus with Republicans. And vice versa. And it’s legal.

The Democrats have a convoluted caucus process that involves good old-fashioned arm-twisting and can run into the wee hours of the night. It won't this year because Obama has no challenger. The Republican Caucuses, however, are a hybrid: part poll and part GOP meeting. Designated supporters of each candidate are allowed to campaign vigorously, making a speech on why their candidates deserve to win that evening’s votes. This is to convince the fence sitters to go with their candidate or to win over someone who is torn between two candidates.

Then Iowans vote by secret ballot. They are given blank sheets of paper with no candidate names on them. They write down their choice and the GOP at each precinct tabulates the results as they are phoned in. The results are then released to the media.

Mitt Romney seems pretty confident.

Newt says "I don't think I'm going to win," and then says it was a "compound sentence structure" that the media just didn't get. I've been teaching English for almost 20 years and I'm not aware that "I don't think I'm going to win" is a compound sentence, but hey, Newt is the intellectual. Not me.

Michele Bachmann won "the coffee bean caucus" but Sarah Palin says it's not her time.

Rick Perry is still hammering Santorum and is looking at this think like a long distance race. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is with Perry tonight and says:

“It is time for us now to take all of this excitement and energy and turn it into real work,” Jindal said. “It is time for us to get our neighbors, friends, family, everybody we know out and make sure that we help to elect Rick Perry as the next president of these United States of America.”

The Duggar family has joined the Santorum camp and the media is thick around the candidate.

Ron Paul is oozing confidence .

All in all I'd say there's a lot of nervous energy in Iowa tonight.

Stay with SIGIS tomorrow for caucus coverage and up to the minute reports.

Jimmy Carter Redux

2012-01-02T16:41:00.003-06:00

Victor Davis Hanson on what may come in 2012:

The result, I think, may be that in this coming year we will see a new boldness among Islamic forces in North Africa; China will show the flag far nearer to Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea; some independent-minded former Soviet Republics will be forced to move closer to Russia; Turkey won’t worry too much whether it overflies Greek or Cypriot airspace — or worse; Iran will test a missile or do something stupider; North Korea may resume its now-and-then shelling of the south; and Lebanon and the West Bank will heat up again — all on the impression that either the U.S. doesn’t much care, does care but is too broke or weary to do much about it, or beneath its public warning harbors some quiet sympathies for such “corrections” in a prior flawed global order.

It should be required reading for anyone considering a vote for Obama. That and a history class.

Read the whole thing.

Perry Punches Back

2012-01-02T16:24:00.000-06:00

It's Time For an Intervention for E.J. Dionne

2012-01-01T20:17:00.000-06:00

E.J. Dionne is delusional. There is no other explanation.

In his latest column, titled "Can A Messiah Win Twice" (gag bucket, please...), Dionne ponders the likelihood of Obama's re-election:

Most Americans still believe that Obama inherited rather than caused the economic turmoil. Barring another crisis in Europe, there is a decent chance of somewhat better times by Election Day.

Obama's fall offensive against Republicans in Congress has paid dividends. Voters seem inclined to blame Washington's dysfunction on the GOP, not on a president they still rather like. Most also think Obama's foreign policy has put the nation on a steadier course.

Wow.

Where to start?

"Obama's foreign policy has put the nation on a steadier course."

Yes, the shoot to kill drone program has netted us so much new intelligence! Oh wait....

Most Americans, I think, recognize and are disgusted by Obama's fawning, bowing, apologies to dictators and his alienation of our allies.

Most Americans would be disgusted by his embrace of the Muslim Brotherhood and the news this week that Obama is aligning with Qaradawi to negotiate (read "surrender") with the Taliban. He's preparing to recognize the Taliban as a legitimate political party.

Most Americans are disgusted by his lack of support for Israel.

Most Americans were repulsed by Obama's failure to support (until forced to make a statement) Iranians protesting a stolen election and who wanted democracy even when they were shot down in the streets by mullah enforcers.

Most Americans were stunned by Obama's complete and utter failure in Egypt. Egypt has now replaced a pro-American regime with an anti-American one. Again, he's aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.

There's much more fisking to be done on Mr. Dionne's piece, especially on the economic portion, but frankly, I'm getting nauseous.

Clearly Obama still has plenty of fawning sycophants in the media.

Oh, and for the record, Dionne is betting that Obama gets re-elected. Bwahahahahahaaa!

BREAKING: Cuccinelli Reconsiders Virginia Ballot Position

2012-01-01T18:01:00.003-06:00

The Virginian-Pilot is reporting that Attorney General Cuccinelli is now reconsidering his earlier vow to intervene in the primary ballot mess in Virginia. While he earlier stated that Virginians should be able to have their choice of candidate, today he has seemingly changed his mind:

Today, he said in a statement that he still feels strongly that Virginia should change its ballot access requirements.

“However, after working through different scenarios with Republican and Democratic leaders to attempt to make changes in time for the 2012 Presidential election, my concern grows that we cannot find a way to make such changes fair to the Romney and Paul campaigns that qualified even with Virginia’s burdensome system,” he said in the statement. “A further critical factor that I must consider is that changing the rules midstream is inconsistent with respecting and preserving the rule of law – something I am particularly sensitive to as Virginia’s attorney general.”

So in Virginia, it's going to be either Romney or Ron Paul.

Great.

As for now, Rick Perry's lawsuit (now joined by four other candidates) will go forward.

Crap shoot.

"Governor Perry is Going to Do Better Than Some People Think."

2012-01-01T16:58:00.001-06:00

The final Des Moines Register poll to come out before Tuesday's caucuses did not reflect the uptick that the Perry camp was probably anticipating given his grueling schedule, multiple appearances, and extensive advertising.

Yet don't count Rick Perry out just yet.

Perry is drawing huge numbers at his appearances around Iowa:

Rick Perry’s events have taken a turn for the crowded. He’ll arrive, typically, to find that a coffee shop built to accommodate 75 people is crammed with up to twice that many, spilling out the door and jammed into every available corner.

And while Santorum's audiences seem to be comprised of as many reporters as supporters, those at Perry's appearances want to meet the candidate. They want to hear what he has to say. There are a large number of undecideds in the audiences that Perry draws but he is winning some of them:

Conversations with voters suggest Perry’s rising numbers are a result of his 14-day bus tour across the state, which gives him a chance to display his famed retail-politics skills. Some showed up to his town hall in Marshalltown with a number of candidates in mind -- but left the event saying they were sold on him.

Molly Ball at The Atlantic suggests that Perry could be the dark horse in Iowa:

As the days to the caucuses wane, Perry has things other candidates would kill for: Crowds who want to meet him, ads all over the airwaves, a decent ground organization, an anti-Washington message people are hungry for, and terrific hair. The question is whether it's too little, too late, to get through the crowded pack ahead of him.

The Des Moines Register poll, as we all know by now, has Romney once again in the lead with 24%, followed by Ron Paul at 22% and Santorum in third with 15%. Perry holds at 11%, not that far back from Santorum.

The poll covers four days:

Santorum's surge is clear; so is Ron Paul's decline.

The poll closed on Friday, the same day Perry's Strike Force began arriving in Iowa. He's got at least 400 volunteers working the state right now going door to door, talking to caucus goers, and manning phones.

The results of this Strike Force won't be known until Tuesday. Meanwhile, Perry continues to work the state with at least six more appearances before caucus day. Nate Silver points out:

But for those looking for a glimmer of hope in Mr. Perry’s numbers, I was able to identify one. Mr. Perry was fairly often named as a second-place choice in a Des Moines Register poll released on Saturday. His campaign may have some hope of converting those second-place votes into first-place votes because it has a large number of precinct leaders, who under Iowa caucus rules are allowed to make a speech in favor of their candidate before the voting takes place.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad says "Governor Perry is going to do better than some people think."

Tuesday will tell.

More on the poll at Memeorandum.

Full Metal Jacket Reach Around: New Year 2012 Edition

2012-01-01T12:54:00.000-06:00

Happy 2012 to you all.

Why is it that I feel like I'm at the top of the Super Slide at the State Fair?

As we get this year started I'm cooking our traditional New Year's meal: corned beef brisket and cabbage. I've souped up the cabbage this year with this terrific recipe from The Blue Willow Inn. I've made it before; it's easy and very good.

I'm watching my neighbor outside with his blower, blowing his oak leaves and acorns into my yard. Shortly I will have to go outside with a rake and clean it all up. I've been known to go out there and blow them all back in his yard, but I'm trying not to be petty.

Mr. SIGIS and I were asleep before midnight last night. We went to Ming Garden and had Pad Thai for dinner then went to our local hangout for its last night (going under new management). We were home by 9:30. We like it that way. It was foggy last night and the streets slick with the humidity. We saw enough loopy driving on the way home to be glad we weren't out any later.

We are sad that the annual outdoor hockey game isn't on today - it's become a New Year's Day tradition, but it will be on tomorrow instead. Looking forward to that.

I've been perusing the blogs today. We'll start 2012 out with some Rule 2 action:

Bride of Rove is celebrating the New Year with a new knife sharpener and some introspection.

Donald Douglas is also feeling introspective.

Althouse sums up Obama's eternal position on detainees.

Smitty has some predictions for the new year, including "a permanent golfing arrangement" for BHO.

Andy also has some predictions.

Paco offers no introspection and no retrospection, just a prayer.

Goldfish and Clowns says it's time to "rethink Romney." (H/T: Smitty)

Doug Ross reports on a challenger for John Boehner.

Professor Jacobson comments on Obama's Middle East position and also links to Andy McCarthy's article that I posted yesterday. Everyone should read that article.

Enough for now. I have acorns to rake up. I'd leave them for the squirrels but no amount of squirrels could eat all those things and besides, they roll out from under me when I walk which is dangerous for a girl with a bad ankle.

A prosperous and blessed new year to you all!

Ringing In the New Year With Sam

2011-12-31T18:12:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

Mr. SIGIS and I are headed out for dinner (Asian) and then to our local hangout with friends for a bit. We'll make it an early evening and get home before the crazies get on the road. We like to be safe at home on New Year's Eve and there is plenty of Sam Adams in the fridge.

Happy New Year to my SIGIS readers and stay safe out there. Here's to a prosperous 2012!

I Suck

2011-12-31T17:05:00.000-06:00

I suck.

Once again I didn't make the Fab 50 list over at Doug's place.

That's fine. I'll *sniff* get over it. I'm not one of the kool kidz. I'm in good company though. Bride of Rove isn't on the list and she's the smartest blogger around. The Other McCain isn't there either and nobody does better on the scene coverage than Stacy.

He does, however, credit some of my favorite bloggers. Pundit & Pundette won and she's one of the first blogs I check when I go online. The other usual winners are there like Memeorandum and Hot Air.

There's a couple of surprises too, I guess. No sour grapes though.

Oh well. I'll keep doing my thing.

I don't need no stinkin' award.

Yes Virginia, There May Actually Be More Candidates on Your Ballot!

2011-12-31T14:06:00.002-06:00

Virginia's Attorney General is stepping into the GOP ballot bust. Via Fox:

"Recent events have underscored that our system is deficient," he said in a statement. "Virginia owes her citizens a better process. We can do it in time for the March primary if we resolve to do so quickly."

Cuccinelli's proposal is expected to state that if the Virginia Board of Elections certifies that a candidate is receiving federal matching funds, or has qualified to receive them, that candidate will upon request be automatically added to the ballot.

Two former Democratic attorneys general are also backing the move, along with a former Democratic state party chairman and a former Republican state party chairman.

Doug Powers points out that things will have to work quickly, however. Absentee ballots need to be mailed out by January 21.

The last polling I saw from Virginia (and there is likely something more recent) showed Rick Perry with a decent chance there, but that was back in October. Cain was still in the race then. Much has changed.

Here is how Virginia voted in 2008:

It does appear that the Virginia process is overly onerous and with Cucinelli getting bi-partisan support on this measure, we might be able to get a better result from Virginians as to their actual candidate preference.

Added: From CNN:

Four candidates left off the Virginia Republican primary ballot joined Rick Perry Saturday in suing the state's board of elections over laws they say are "unconstitutional."Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum joined the lawsuit, originally filed Tuesday, challenging provisions that determine who can appear on the primary ballot.

Traction.

More at Memeorandum.

Obama Prepares to Surrender Afghanistan

2011-12-31T13:36:00.001-06:00

Andrew McCarthy is sounding the alarm: Obama is preparing to surrender Afghanistan back to the Taliban:

The surrender is complete now. The Hindu reports that the Obama administration has turned to Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s leading jurist, to mediate secret negotiations between the United States and the Taliban.

ABC News reported yesterday that the Taliban is preparing to open its first official office in Qatar:

The office is expected to open as early as the next few months in Qatar, the officials told ABC News, and facilitate negotiations with the Taliban that will include unprecedented local ceasefires in Afghanistan and the transfer of Afghan prisoners from American prisons — even though they are labeled “high risk” to the U.S. and associated with the death of a CIA officer in 2001.

John Hinderaker at PowerLine points out that it would be a real "coup" for Obama to run for re-election on the boast that he's ended two wars, especially as unpopular as the Afghanistan incursion has been.

According to the Hindu report:

Earlier this month, the sources said, Mr. al-Qaradawi helped draw a road map for a deal between the Taliban and the United States, aimed at giving the superpower a face-saving political settlement ahead of its planned withdrawal from Afghanistan which is due to begin in 2014.

In return for the release of prisoners still held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay, the lifting of United Nations sanctions on its leadership and its recognition as a legitimate political group, the Taliban was expected to agree to sever its links to transnational organisations like al-Qaeda, end violence and eventually share power with the Afghan government.

Yet for Team Obama to recruit Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi is stunning. McCarthy has much more on him, referring to him as the "most influential Sunni Islamist in the world." McCarthy also points out that in 2003 he issued a fatwa calling for the killing of American troops in Iraq.

Is this the best guy we can find to support American interests in the region?

McCarthy has much more on Qaradawi:

I wrote about Qaradawi at length in The Grand Jihad and, here at NRO, have regularly catalogued his activities (see, e.g., here, here, here, here, and here; see also Andrew Bostom’s “Qaradawi’s Odious Vision”).

Debra Burlingame linked to this video in her Facebook feed of Qaradawi spewing vile antisemitism and vowing to kill Jews "even if in a wheelchair." He is bent on the destruction of Israel.

This is who Obama calls upon to bring peace to the region?

McCarthy sums it up best:

After thousands of young Americans have laid down their lives to protect the United States from jihadist terror, President Obama apparently seeks to end the war by asking Qaradawi, a jihad-stoking enemy of the United States, to help him strike a deal that will install our Taliban enemies as part of the sharia state we have been building in Afghanistan. If the Hindu report is accurate, the price tag will include the release of Taliban prisoners from Gitmo — an element of the deal Reuters has also reported. The administration will also agree to the lifting of U.N. sanctions against the Taliban, and recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate political party (yes, just like the Muslim Brotherhood!). In return, the Taliban will pretend to forswear violence, to sever ties with al-Qaeda, and to cooperate with the rival Karzai regime.

It would mark one of the most shameful chapters in American history.

It nauseates me.

2012 Doesn't Look So Bright After All

2011-12-30T14:52:00.000-06:00

As January 2012 rolls in the incandescent light bulb begins to fade away.

The Energy Independence and Security Act - signed into law under president George W. Bush in 2007 - requires light bulbs to use at least 25 percent less energy and that friend endangers the good old-fashioned incandescent bulb.

Here’s the good news: those bulbs don't disappear immediately because the law unfolds in phases. But starting Sunday - the traditional 100-watt bulb will no longer be manufactured in this country. The next to go is the 75 watt bulb next January... And in 2014 we'll be saying goodbye to the 40 and 60 watt versions.

It doesn't exactly speak well of the Republicans that they couldn't even save the light bulb.

The squirrely, curly CFL light bulbs, as we all know by now, practically require a hazmat team to come in when you break one:

Have people and pets leave the room.
Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment.
Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one.
Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb:
- stiff paper or cardboard;
- sticky tape;
- damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces); and
- a glass jar with a metal lid or a sealable plastic bag.

Once you've cleaned up the mess (don't use the vacuum!), sealed it and placed it outdoors, you should continue to air out the house for several hours and leave the heat or a/c off.

Look, incandescent bulbs are inexpensive, provide nice light, and can even be a heat source, thus potentially reducing heating bills. But the bottom line is the total nanny-state-ness of the government, Republican or Democratic, telling me what kind of light bulb I can use, well, it's just intolerable.

And in case we're all too stupid to figure the light bulb situation out, some greenie has even developed an app to help us out:

View bulb images, cost, savings, and environmental impact. Create shopping lists, and buy bulbs directly through the app or at local stores.

If you haven't planned ahead and stocked up on incandescent bulbs, there is still time. Stores will be allowed to sell them until supplies run out. Home Depot and Lowes are reported to have plenty at the moment, and there's always Amazon.

As for me, I've been stockpiling 100 watt bulbs for a couple of years. I'm not likely to ever run out unless I open a black market operation. I hate the CFLs and am not a big fan of the LEDs.

I guess we could just go back to candles and do away with all of them. But then, it wouldn't be too long before liberals found something wrong with that, too.

Have an Espresso...

2011-12-29T19:32:00.000-06:00

...and Tiramisu. Heaven.

Jon Huntsman Doesn't Have a Clue What Happens in Iowa

2011-12-29T13:41:00.002-06:00

If Jon Huntsman was ever going to get any votes at all in Iowa, I'd say he just lost most of those:

"They pick corn in Iowa," Huntsman said on CBS' The Early Show, "and pick presidents here in New Hampshire."

Seriously? Jon Huntsman doesn't have a clue about Iowa (and neither do many of those folks leaving comments at the CBS link, either).

Mr. Huntsman might be interested to know that Iowa is home to over 4,100 manufacturing firms that employ over 198,000 people; in 2008 the total GDP for Iowa's industries was over $135 billion. According to this report from Iowa State University, "Iowa ranks 2nd among all states in the percentage of total GDP derived from the manufacturing sector."

Rockwell Collins has its headquarters in Cedar Rapids and is a leader in aerospace and defense engineering. They employ about 7,300 people.

John Deere has divisions in Dubuque, Urbandale, Davenport and Waterloo Iowa. The Waterloo Division alone employs about 4,700 people.

Alcoa has an aluminum manufacturing plant on the Mississippi River in Davenport which employs about 2,200 people. This plant develops the metal for America's aerospace program and for America's major aircraft for Airbus and Boeing.

Certainly Mr. Huntsman has heard of Winnebago? They're headquartered in Forest City, IA.

Vermeer Company is in Pella, IA and makes agricultural and industrial products that are distributed worldwide.

Has Mr. Huntsman even been to Des Moines? What a beautiful, wonderful city that is! There's a world class art museum, a top notch science museum, and any number of four star restaurants and fine dining at your beck and call. The city sports modern displays of public art, fountains, and sports events. The state capital is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Blank Park Zoo is one of the finest zoos anywhere with everything from birds, to bald eagles, flamingos, monkeys, elephants, lions, seals, you name it.

Do they grow corn in Iowa? You bet they do. But is that all there is to Iowa? No way.

No wonder Mr. Huntsman is polling 3% in Iowa.

I bet it's less than that after this boneheaded statement.

(H/T: Sara)

New Year's Eve 2012 in Shreveport BUMPED AND UPDATED

2011-12-29T12:41:00.000-06:00

Scroll down for updates

It's Christmas Eve but lots of folks are already making New Year's Eve plans. I'm posting my annual guide now because many of these events require advance reservations.

Here is a line up of your choices this year if you're in Shreveport:

At Harrah's Louisiana Downs there will be a free New Year's Eve party featuringentertainment by Disco Inferno, DJ Love and a spectacularfireworks show! The show starts at 8:00.

At Valencia on Cross Lake there will be a grand Gala. Website here:

BWebbConnected is looking forward to raise the bar and bring to Shreveport-Bossier City one of the hottest celebrations to welcome in 2012!~All-Star Line Up Entertainment~Shreveport-Bossier City's Own~**Alter Ego Live Band Entertainment** *Louisiana Go DJ Slim Live in the Mix**NYE Gala Details:The VIP Pass grants you Early Access -Guided escort to your VIP seating area to enjoy an intimate 5-course meal**, Champagne or Premium Brand drink of choice and a Jazz ensemble with lakefront view. Champagne Toast at Midnight. NYE Party Favors.General Admission:-Hot Hors D'Oeuvres Buffet Style-Champagne Toast at Midnight-NYE Party Favors>>Formal/Semi-Formal Dress Attire Appreciated<<~Tickets Info~ **This is an ALL-INCLUSIVE EVENT**VIP PASS-$85**General Admission (Open Bar Armband)-$40*General Admission (Entry & Hot Hors D'oeuvres)-$25Tickets can be purchased at www.nye2012gala.com or TOO GROOVE in Pierre Bossier Mall or call 318-820-6395. Space is limited!!

Dominique's Event Facility on Texas Street has a party:

Dominique's Event Facility now open: New Year's Eve party will be over the top, the tickets are $20.00 at the door come and bring in the New Years in an elegant and historical atmosphere. There will be free food and cash bar . Please call for more information (318)402-935.

Sam's Town Casino in downtown Shreveport will have Rockin' Dopsie, Jr., free party favors, and champagne at midnight.

The El Dorado Casino is having a masquerade ball with a cash prize; details here:

The Elite Masquerade Ball, sponsored by Stoli Elit Vodka, is December 31 in Eldorado’s Celebrity and Allure Ultra Lounge. Dress for the Masquerade and walk the red carpet – the best masks win cash. Reserve your table with bottle service, featuring Stoli Elit and champagne, or order your entry wrist band today. Rock in the New Year with Triggerproof live in Celebrity Lounge. Sophisticated nightlife attire required. Doors open at 7 pm and space WILL GO FAST. Table reservations and general admission wristbands are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Holiday Lanes on Old Minden Road in Bossier City is ringing in the New Year bowling. It's a kid friendly event. See here for options.

9:00 pm - Bowl in our New Year with Holiday Lanes. You can enjoy a great night of bowling, food and drinks with your friends and family. Our fantastic New Year's Eve party package gives you:

UNLIMITED Intergalactic Bowling all night (9 pm - 2 am)
Breakfast Platter
Party Favor Pack
Glass of bubbly at midnight (or regular fountain drink for under 21's)

Another kid-friendly event is at SciPort at noon:

Start the New Year off with us this year at our annual New Year's at Noon party on Saturday, December 31. As the clock strikes Noon in Shreveport, we will be commemorating our East Asian counterparts as they celebrate their New Year at Midnight. Come celebrate, and learn about the traditions of East Asian cultures, which include our traditional Dragon Dance! Plan to count down to Noon at Sci-Port with a balloon drop!

Fatty Arbuckle's in downtown Shreveport is hosting an event with Flow Tribe.

Chicky's Boom Boom Room on Texas Street downtown will have Bushrod Jenkins kicking off at 11. I can vouch for the wonderful oysters on the half shell at Chicky's!

Nearby, The Noble Savage will have Dirty Red Jazz. Dinner is from 7-10 and reservations are required. Those spots are going fast so act quickly. Wild Boar is on the menu!

Lake Street Dance Hall will feature the Bayou Boogie Band but seats are limited to 100 so make your reservations! (Bonus! Buddy Flett will be there Friday for a Blues Happy Hour from 5 - 7!)

Updates with more events to follow as they develop. If you know of an event, drop me a line and I'll post it.

Added:

The Northwest Louisiana Square and Round Dance Association will be dancing in the New Year at the Promenade Hall, 5400 Benton Road, in Bossier City. Snacks and finger foods provided; Admission is $15 per couple and $8 individual. Call 318-752-1474 for more information.

The American Legion Post 14 hosts its annual NYE bash. Music will be provided by the Rockin Red Eye band. A breakfast buffet will be served and there will be a cash bar, party favors, and fireworks. Details here.

Code 3 will host its New Years Eve bash again this year with The Smith Brothers band. This will be the club's last big party before it goes under new ownership so there will be deep discounts at the bar. It should be a grand time! Code 3 is located right next to Beams Restaurant at 2826 Barksdale Blvd.

The Robinson Film Center will be screening The Rocky Horror Picture Show at 10 p.m. Come dressed up, of course, and enjoy some cheap champagne. After the film, watch the ball drop on the big screen. Big fun!

(12/30/11: The event at the RFC is now sold out)

Update: Fat Cats is having a party:

One of the area's hottest, most buzzed about new bands of the year, Super Water Sympathy, will help ring in the new year at Fat Cats, 10 p.m.- 2 a.m. Dec. 31. Fresh off the release of their debut album, "Vesper Belle," the quintet will perform live with Jacob Davis on stage under a big heated tent between Fat Cats and City Bar.

The event will include drinks, a light show, Mario Kart and Super Mario 3 video games, as well as Micronesian designer Vegas Rose IV, who will be developing Oxygen Child Y.

A reader asked about taxi services - a very good point. Put some of these numbers into your cell phone before you head out:

Golden Stripe Cab: 318-675-0411
Able Taxi: 318-459-3800
Action Taxi: 318-222-8294
Yellow Checker Cab: 318-621-9823
Ace Cabs: 318-425-3325

I've used most of these companies to shuttle The Teenager to work before he got a car. I don't have complaints from any of them. Ace Cabs gets high marks here, though.

Added:

You want to eat first and you're not going to an event that serves food? Well, if you're partying at one of the casinos, they each have multiple dining options. Other than that, here are some SIGIS recommendations (and I'm noting local places, not chains. We have plenty of those too if that's your preference):

We love The Blind Tiger in the downtown area. It's casual, has great food and atmosphere, and has a bar. It's on the corner of Texas and Spring so you can people watch while you eat.

Close to downtown but on the fringes, we like the neighborhood Fat Boys Bar and Grill. They've got the best hamburgers in town. We like the onion rings and sweet potato fries, too. I also like the beef quesadillas. An added bonus, the service is the friendliest I've found anywhere.

You want something a little more formal? You can't beat L'Italiano on Barksdale Blvd. in Bossier City. It sits in the shadow of the casinos and five minutes from downtown Shreveport. It's fine dining Italian and if you're lucky, Claudio will cruise by your table and sing in Italian. Beautiful! They've got fabulous specials each day and I favor the fish dishes.

Away from downtown yet nestled amongst all the plain vanilla chain places is Vince's Southport Restaurant. We love the Steam Pot: a plate full of boiled shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn. Can't beat it!

Another great neighborhood place is Marilynn's; it's located in a renovated service station and follows that theme. There's a deck for outside seating and jazz playing over the speakers. The menu is New Orleans style: po-boys, red beans and rice, shrimp creole, and beignets on demand.

If you're in the mood for Mexican food, our favorite is Nicky's on Airline Drive. Again, great service and the best Mexican food.

Added 12/30/11: The Shreveport Times list of events.

Quote of the Day

2011-12-27T23:50:00.000-06:00

Of all the arguments for giving amnesty to illegal immigrants, the most foolish is the argument that we can't find and expel all of them. There is not a law on the books that someone has not violated, including laws against murder, and we certainly have not found and prosecuted all the violators -- whether murderers or traffic law violators. But do we then legalize all the illegalities we haven't been able to detect and prosecute?

Thomas Sowell

Irony Flips and Flops and Other Loose Thoughts

2011-12-27T21:36:00.001-06:00

Can't seem to get my head to focus on any one issue today. We've been working on Mr. SIGIS's man-cave today and I'm pondering the irony of that. If it's a Man-Cave, shouldn't HE be decorating it? Yeah, so I'm done with that.

Speaking of irony, isn't there some irony in Rick Perry suing Virginia over its "onerous" ballot requirements? Taegan Goddard beat me in noting that out loud, but it's true, nonetheless. That being said, I'm not sure he doesn't have a point. Allahpundit:

So I ask again: Is he right? A law professor interviewed by NBC says the lawsuit “now faces long odds, both legally and politically” (partly because they should have challenged Virginia’s requirements earlier), but some federal appellate courts have sided with Perry on this. Here’s one case, from the Tenth Circuit, finding state residency requirements for petition circulators unconstitutional; two other federal appellate courts have ruled similarly. The question is whether the Fourth Circuit, which covers Virginia, will rule the same way. How lucky do you feel?

Lucky!

We shall see.

And speaking of Rick Perry, his new stance on abortion is raising some eyebrows. He now opposes abortion in all circumstances:

“That transformation was after watching the DVD, ‘The Gift of Life,’” Perry said. “And I really started giving some thought about the issue of rape and incest. And some powerful, some powerful stories in that DVD.”

Perry said a woman who appeared in the movie who said she was a product of rape moved him to change his mind about abortion.

Iowa caucuses are a week away; coincidence or no?

“She said, ‘My life has worth.’ It was a powerful moment for me,” Perry said.

It sounds sincere. Allahpundit, again:

For argument’s sake, I’ll give you three reasons why this might not be pure political expedience at work. One: It wouldn’t be the first time personal testimony on a hot-button issue made a deep impression on Perry. His experience with Heather Burcham clearly touched him too. Two: It seems almost too desperate. Precisely because the timing reeks of expedience, there’s a risk that more social cons will perceive it as pandering and will dismiss him as a phony than will be charmed by his newfound commitment. If he was going to flip on this for reasons of political gain, why not do it several weeks ago instead of in the middle of his final Iowa push? Three, most importantly: How does he gain from it, really?

One of the comments at Hot Air:

It is part of the problem I have with him. He is too easily led astray of what is right by what is “right” in a progressive way. Obviously moving to the right on abortion is not a progressive direction, but what happens when it is illegal aliens or even people in other countries who want to come here on the tax payer dime for life saving medical care? I sure as hell do not want to be paying for their healthcare because Perry met some Guatemalan refugee in need of a transplant.

It's a valid point, but again, it's a stance that is consistent with Perry's faith and positions. I'm willing to believe him on this one. He's going to spend the rest of the campaign defending it, though. He's forfeited the "flip-flopper" card against Mittens now.

People that know Perry and have met him, for the most part, trumpet his sincerity and down home, plain folks demeanor. There is, it seems to me, a reason why he's never lost an election, and that may be part of it.

I'm still pulling for Perry. Even if it IS a flip-flop, it's one against the many of Mittens. This one at least has a smatch of sincerity in it.

Of course, there's Santorum, surging, who hasn't needed to flip on this issue.

Ah well, Iowa is but a brick in the long road of this campaign and Iowa's record of picking the eventual nominee is just over 50% (if you go by a Paul-Bot's analysis.)

Here's Rick Perry's latest ad:

Christmas: The Down Side

2011-12-26T11:15:00.000-06:00