0
POPS"It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad" -- Captain Phil Harris Phil Harris, captain of the Cornelia Marie on the Discovery Channel show "Deadliest Catch," has died at age 53. On the show's Web page, where updates on Harris' condition had been posted since his Jan. 30 stroke, sons Jake and Josh Harris gave notice of their father's passing Discovery Channel in its statement referred to Harris as "more than someone on our television screen. Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him. We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart." YouTube - The Beach Boys - Sail on, Sailor http://bit.ly/9nfCmp
1
POPSBoehner to Obama: We Need to Start Cutting Spending Nowby
merrie Yesterday 11:23 PM 
1
In a letter sent to President Obama last week, Boehner and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) asked the president to invoke his authority under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to submit specific proposals rescinding spending already in place. Boehner and Cantor pledged that if the president grants their request and chooses to use this authority, which has been invoked 1,178 times by previous presidents, they will introduce each proposal as a stand-alone bill in the House of Representatives. "Here in the House of Representatives, there is no shortage of opportunities to vote on bills increasing spending or creating new programs, but very seldom do we consider bills to actually reduce spending or eliminate programs," Boehner and Cantor wrote last week. "Since increasing the debt limit by $290 billion on December 16, the House has not considered one bill to reduce the national debt.
1
POPSCongressional Democrats Point Finger of Blame at Rahm Emanuel Congressional Democrats point finger of blame at Rahm Emanuel on healthcare - TheHill.com Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform. The emerging consensus among critics in both chambers is that Emanuel’s lack of Senate experience slowed President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority. The share of the blame comes as cracks are beginning to show in Emanuel’s once-impregnable political armor. Last week he had to apologize after a report surfaced that he called liberal groups “retarded” in a private meeting. While Emanuel has quelled that controversy by meeting with advocates for people with disabilities, on Capitol Hill he’s under fire for poor execution of the president’s healthcare agenda in the Senate... more ... http://bit.ly/boJ1Lp
1
POPSThe Chicago Way by Jake Tapper "I just don’t trust the beltway progressives any more than the beltway Republicans, even though on a lot of issues I think the progressive activists are probably right about policy." Check the stories out for yourself. What do you think? -jpt by Jake Tapper The Chicago Way - Political Punch http://bit.ly/caHG2q
3
POPSwall of dissent I know bipartisanship when I see it, and its not saying one thing and doing another," House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, told reporters. The White House repeatedly says it wants to find avenues of cooperation, and Mr. Obama will meet Tuesday with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders at the White House " the first of the regular meetings he proposed in his address to Congress. He has also called for a televised bipartisan summit later this month to try to reignite momentum for his health care bill. Republicans have agreed to meet, but say progress will be impossible unless the president starts new with his bill. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are seeking bipartisan support for a second stimulus jobs package but say they are prepared to move ahead unilaterally. That posturing leaves energy as one key area where cooperation seemed possible " particularly given the words Mr. Obama used http://bit.ly/dqrQsv
8
POPSSen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) Embraces Communist Van Jones
For a time, Jones had been politically radioactive to Democrats but Gillibrand’s decision to work alongside him appears to bring Jones’s political exile to an end. Gillibrand, who had a reputation as a moderate Democrat before entering the U.S. Senate, has been steadily tacking to the left since being appointed to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton so it’s no surprise that she is cozying up to her party’s radical left-wing. Gillibrand was one of only seven senators who voted against de-funding the radical leftist group ACORN known for its decades of involvement in election fraud. At the time she defended her vote, telling the New York Post through a spokesperson, “The truth remains that thousands of New York families who are facing foreclosure depend on charitable organizations like ACORN for assistance.” “Van Jones is a globally recognized, award-winning pioneer in the green jobs movement. He also happens to be a super fun speaker so this will be a very ....
6
POPSLouisa Ball has rare SLEEPING BEAUTY SICKNESS Soon the youngster was out like a light for as long as ten days at a time. Surveyor Richard, 44, says: "It was very hard to wake her but we knew we had to give her food and water and get her to the toilet before she fell asleep again." Doctors at the family's local hospital in Worthing, West Suusex, examined Louisa but told her mum and dad they had no idea what was wrong, saying it could be hormonal. She was referred to St George's Hospital in Tooting last year March where a paediatric consultant diagnosed Kleine-Levin Syndrome - a rare form of hypersomnia in children also called Sleeping Beauty Sickness. There is no known cause - but the good news for Louise, who has a 14-year-old brother, Ross - is that it usually disappears in adulthood. But that's little comfort to her now. "I was really upset when I went to sleep at the beginning of our week's caravan holiday and woke up when it was over!" says Louise. "Ross had a great time with our friends, and I missed out ....
6
POPS“Snowmaggedon Part II” Will Slam Hard, 30-Hour Winter Snow Storm Warning Issued (video) Schools, federal agencies, and many businesses were closed yesterday and hundreds of roads were still impassible after the weekend blizzard in the nation’s capital, and weary and wary residents braced for the next onslaught: Forecasters say up to 20 inches of snow are supposed to start falling late tonight. The Mid-Atlantic region was already trying to dig out from as much as 3 feet of snow that made travel nearly impossible. Federal agencies that employ 230,000 in Washington were closed, as were many local governments, businesses, and school districts. Utilities warned it could be days before power is restored to tens of thousands of customers. With snow forecast through tomorrow, stranded travelers wondered when they might escape the icy, gray mess. Read Full Report http://bit.ly/9mevd9 30-Hour Winter Snow Storm Warning Issued (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone
7
POPSWe Are Doomed Nicholas Ostler, in Empires of the Word, puts it down to the great and terrible plague that ravaged Europe in the mid-sixth century. The English areas, and the Celts living under English overlords, were less affected, he argues, for social and economic reasons (e.g. fewer trade links with southern Europe). Now here’s F. W. Brownlow of Mt. Holyoke College, writing in the current (February) issue my favorite papo-paleo-con magazine, Chronicles. Philologists have scratched their heads over this problem, and the best explanation they can come up with is that English, for some reason, is a “killer” language, which is to say that wherever it goes, it drives out other languages. There is no apparent reason why the Anglo-Saxons " who, like the Vikings in Normandy, were a relatively small group of warriors who married the female kin of the resident proprietors whom they dispossessed " should not have adopted the language of their wives, tenants, children .....
6
POPSThe San Fransisco Green Police ...... while there are fines associated with noncompliance of the recycling and composting ordinance, fines are not expected to be handed out except in extreme cases. The potential for fines is meant to increase awareness and add a sense of urgency to the matter, but they will only be implemented after repeated notices and phone calls. Additionally, a moratorium on fines is in effect until 2011. See, it starts off as small fines to raise 'awareness'. As more and more people become complacent with recycling, more 'awareness' will need to be raised, by way of heftier fines. And the moratorium will be lifted because people just aren't aware enough, gosh darn it. Soon there will be a 'Green Police' out there inspecting the garbage to make sure that you didn't throw away any plastics that could be recycled. And people think social conservatives are bad. Out of all the commercials played during Superbowl 44, I thought this was the most disturbing.
3
POPSDesktop Fun: Forest Theme Wallpapersby
merrie Yesterday 12:40 AM 4
Feeling a little bit stressed out lately and need something peaceful to look at to help you relax? Then you can add a bit of tranquility to your desktop with our forest theme wallpapers collection.
2
POPSWho Appears At The Intersection of Every Legislative and Regulatory Failing of the Mortgage System?by
merrie Yesterday 12:18 AM 1
CONTINUED ........ Consider the findings of the auditor: "Over 50% of the sub primes were for cash-out refi’s. Regardless of the loan criteria used to pull random samplings for audits, the majority of the last names were Hispanic. The loans I audited were primarily in CA, NV, AZ, FL, CO, compare those to the states with the highest number of foreclosures & illegal aliens." Now that we -- the taxpayers -- have ownership stakes in most of the large banks, I have three very simple questions for the new stewards of the banks -- our Congress: 1. What's the total percentage of subprime loans that have defaulted? 2. What's the total percentage of subprime loans that used a Matricular Consular card as the primary ID that have defaulted? 3. And how is it that Barney Frank -- who appears to be at the intersection of every legislative and regulatory failing of the mortgage system -- isn't being investigated by every agency in the country?
2
POPSDid Democrat Open Border Policies Touch Off the Mortgage Meltdown?by
merrie Yesterday 12:15 AM 2
"During the bailout, I called my Congressman and other leadership including Barney Frank and asked if there was a provision within the Bill that prohibited illegal aliens from being bailed out…..the answer was no. I asked if there was a provision in the Bill that helped homeowners that did not take out subprimes but are faced with losing their home due to the negative impact of subprimes and was told... no. So in other words, those that committed crimes to obtain the loans will get a helping hand to bail them out, compliments of the US axpayer!" October 26, 2001, President Bush signed the USA Patriot Act. However, I would wager to say that almost no one knows that contained in section 326(b) of the USA Patriot Act is a provision that allows US banks to accept Mexican Matricula Consular cards (MCCs) as a valid form of ID for opening bank accounts." "It should be noted that while... Congress ordered American banks to recognize these Mexican-issued cards,
5
POPSNew Errors In IPCC Climate Change Report Researchers insist the errors are minor and do not impact on the overall conclusions about climate change. However, senior scientists are now expressing concern at the way the IPCC compiles its reports and have hit out at the panel’s use of so-called “grey literature” " evidence from sources that have not been subjected to scientific scrutiny. A new poll has revealed that public belief in climate change is weakening.The panel’s controversial chair, Rajendra Pachauri is facing pressure to resign over the affair. Drafts of the reports are checked by scientific reviewers before they are subjected to line-by-line approval by the 130 member countries of the IPCC. Despite these checks, a diagram used to demonstrate the potential for generating electricity from wave power has been found to contain numerous errors. The source of information for the diagram was cited as the website of UK-based wave-energy company Wavegen. Yet the diagram on Wavegen’s website contain ....
2
POPSObama Could Dump Biden for Clinton as VP in 2012 ..... of Clinton admirers, give Obama more of a pragmatic luster, and shunt the gaffe-prone Biden aside. And it would theoretically discourage Clinton, a former senator from New York, from challenging Obama in the 2012 primaries, Democratic insiders say, because as vice president she would be considered Obama's heir for 2016. Clinton would be 69 that year, the same age as Ronald Reagan when he won the presidency in 1980. As for Clinton, she has said that she doesn't plan to serve as secretary of state longer than four years, but so far she has expressed no interest in another presidential run. She was the favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 but lost to Obama after a long series of primaries and caucuses.A White House strategist attributed the speculation about Biden and Clinton to "cocktail party chatter" and said Obama is "very pleased" with Biden's job performance. http://www.usnews.com
3
POPSObama Sets Trap for Republicans No matter what the Democrats say to the Republicans or anything that they try to put in there, it would only be a lie. They would sneak things in that none of us want. I believe we should wait until all of them are voted out. We get people in there who care about America and believe in the Constitution and then we can listen to them about health care. RUSH: Absolutely right. Absolutely right. The Republicans ought not get suckered by this and go anywhere near it. CALLER: Say "no!" RUSH: Say "hell, no!" Read the Background Material... • Washington Post: GOP Cool to Obama Call for Two-Party Health Talks • Politico: White House Announces Televised Health Meet • New York Times: Obama Plans Bipartisan Summit on Health Care *Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time. http://bit.ly/cQqrV2 http://www.rushlimbaugh.com
1
POPSHill Leaders Welcome Summit Idea "Obviously, I am pleased that the White House finally seems interested in a real, bipartisan conversation on health care," he said. "The problem with the Democrats’ health care bills is not that the American people don’t understand them; the American people do understand them, and they don't like them." Congressional Republicans have largely resisted the Democratic effort to write health care legislation. Only one Republican member voted for the House bill when it passed in November. No Republicans voted for the Senate bill during procedural motions or on final passage.
1
POPSDeficit – What Is It and How Much Is It? For the 2010 budget year, the federal government has budgeted tax receipts of approximately $2.4 trillion and budgeted expenditures of approximately $3.6 trillion, leaving a budget deficit of roughly $1.2 trillion. That means the federal government expects to add about $1.2 trillion to the national debt in 2010. Stated another way, the federal government plans on spending 50% more than it collects in taxes in 2010. If American families ran their household budgets this way, they would go bankrupt. But our Washington politicians seem to think they can keep spending as much as they want to, regardless of how much money our government actually has. Thank you for visiting this site and reading this article on the deficit and the national debt. Your interest in the national debt and related topics is very much appreciated, and you are invited to read additional articles on this site. http://twitter.com/TheNationalDebt
3
POPSWatch Every Super Bowl XLIV Ad Recent Lists * 2010 Super Bowl Ads * Top 10 Ways to Improve the Pro Bowl * Top 10 Accomplishments by Athletes 40 and Over * Top 10 Stunningly Short Coaching Stints * NBA Midseason Reports view all lists via http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b2Pd0
4
POPSObama's First Year: By the Numbers "Nothing special," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs when asked what President Obama is doing today to mark the end of his 1st year in office and the start of his 2nd. (at right, President Obama takes the oath of office, Jan. 20, 2009.) "It's an anniversary of types, but I don't see that a lot of people are ultimately focused on marking the first year," said Gibbs at yesterday's daily press briefing. He said the White House already had its fill of calendar anniversaries: the first 100 days; 200 days, six months; a year after the election. Posted by Mark Knoller http://www.cbsnews.com
3
POPSGrade Obama's First Year in Office .........Special Report: Obama's First Year ........... More Coverage of Obama's First Year in Office: Poll: Obama Ends First Year with 50% Approval Rating Jeff Greenfield: Obama's Decline in Popularity -- What Caused It? A Year After Obama, Republicans Take Stock How Obama Became a Commander in Chief Photos: Obama's First Year ..... more Grade Obama's First Year in Office - http://bit.ly/cllPAH
2
POPS WhoDat And The Why? Two words of advice for Roger Daltrey: Lip sync. It was terrible. Someone call the police. The lead singer for The Who has been replaced by a 65-year-old man. Hope I die before I get old? You did not get your wish. Can this please be the last rock oldies band to do the Super Bowl? Here is the new test: If Don Surber has heard of them, don’t let them get on stage unless they Lip sync. Don Surber http://blogs.dailymail.com
2
POPS31-17 Dat Is All !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .......The Age Of The Who Dat Has Begun .......... The Hayride has thoughts after the victory: News and Commentary on Louisiana and National Politics (http://twitter.com) The Saints winning the Super Bowl, as happened tonight, is that kind of event. Numbing. Until this year it was never even allowed, it seemed, for Saints fans to seriously think of their team as a champion...And while Payton is a sensational coach, Drew Brees is equally superlative. Brees is, to me, the epitome of what a star athlete should be " he exudes excellence on the field not based on overwhelming physical talent, though he’s unquestionably a phenomenal athlete, but all of the other factors. Brains. Character. Class. Work Ethic. Commitment. Courage. Leadership. I'll update through the day as more trickles in. http://bit.ly/dtDUJL Governor Bobby Jindal's bet with Governor Daniels means that a "Who Dat" flag will fly over Indy this year!
4
POPSVancouver Winter Olympics 2010 Protest Walking downtown just days before the Olympics are scheduled to begin there was quite a buzz around town. While most of the people we encountered were there to enjoy the Olympic atmosphere, some were there with a different agenda. Do you think it's acceptable for people to be killed for opposing the government? How can you help? http://bit.ly/cPKZdP Read more: http://www.tune-in-tokyo.com
5
POPS SAINTS Super Bowl XLIV: Saints Onside Kick One of Gutsiest Calls Ever Never let it be said Sean Payton is a "conventional" coach. With less than two minutes left in the first half and sitting at the Indianapolis 1, the Saints elect to run the ball twice. New Orleans is stopped on both plays for no gain, preventing New Orleans from tying the game at 10. The question begs asking: Why did the Saints run the ball both times at the goal line? Yes, Indianapolis is not known for their run defense. However, New Orleans has one of the best passing offenses in the league. Perhaps Dwight Freeney still playing made it a risky call, but I would have gone with a play-action bootleg, Jeremy Shockey rolling out right and Marques Colston on a drag pattern. The call must have sat with Payton all through halftime. The Saints came out swinging to start the third quarter. A surprise onside kick, a massive dogpile and a series of precision Drew Brees passes has the Saints up by three .....
11
POPSUnsustainable ....... by Mark Steyn the State of the Union than any of the dreary 90-minute sludge he paid his speechwriters for, let us consider it: Is America a Corpseman walking? Well, we’re getting there. National Review ’s Jim Geraghty sums up Obama’s America thus: “Unsustainable is the new normal.” Indeed. The other day, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, described current deficits as “unsustainable.” So let’s make them even more so. The president tells us, with a straight face, that his grossly irresponsible profligate wastrel of a predecessor took the federal budget on an eight-year joyride, so the only way his sober, fiscally prudent successor can get things under control is to grab the throttle and crank it up to what Mel Brooks in Spaceballs (which seems the appropriate comparison) called “Ludicrous Speed.” Obama’s spending proposes to take the average Bush deficit for the years 2001– 2008, and double it, all the way to 2020.
12
POPSObama's Stunning Admission Obama admits Dems "snuck in" health care provisions Posted by Tom Bevan So it's a bit of shock to find out now - from the President himself, no less - that one or both of the bills that passed Congress late last year (the House passed its version in late November, the Senate on Christmas Eve Day) contained language that would have violated this pledge. If we take this statement at face value, President Obama is admitting the the health care bills passed by either the House or Senate (or both) contained provisions which were "snuck in" - presumably by Democratic members and perhaps on behalf of certain lobbyists - that would have in fact prevented people from keeping their current insurance and/or choosing the doctor they want. RCP more .... http://bit.ly/d2nyq9
5
POPSCoverage of National Tea Party Convention Welcome to Nashville: Kicking Off The 2010 National Tea Party Convention Mark Skoda & Steven Milloy: Get Active, Get Organized Smart Girl Politics: The Smart Way To Register More Voters & Win More Elections The Next Generation: How The Tea Parties Can Energize The Youth Vote Dana Loesch and Glenn Reynolds: When Mommy Bloggers & Tea Parties Collide more ... http://bit.ly/9oVK7Q
1
POPSPlease Help Us Grow Federal Bureaucracies, Receive Tax Refund in Savings Bonds! If even a small percentage elect to receive bonds instead of cash, then the United States government will have created a new way of helping to fund its deficits. Is this a novel new way of helping Americans save for their retirements? Or is this a desperate attempt to try and raise more funds to help pay for a seemingly endless stream of future deficits? DUH! Let's face facts. The US government has already publicly stated that they expect to post a total of $9.05 trillion dollars in deficits through 2019. Where are they planning on getting this money from? China, which owns nearly a trillion dollars worth of US debt, is scrambling to diversify its portfolio. This is not good news for the United States and its future efforts to raise money to pay for its deficits. This leaves a few options.. more ... Will You Elect to Receive Savings Bonds Instead of Tax Refund Checks? http://bit.ly/305QyX
5
POPSAmerica Rising Of course, every economist and statistician I have talked to on air says the stats don’t exist and this statement in most part is a fabrication. The Congressional Budget office said there were only 600,000-1.6 million of potentially created jobs. It said it was impossible to determine how many of those jobs could have existed without the stimulus package. Another lie Obama smoothly threw out was about the White House and Congress doing their work openly as the people deserve. What a bunch of bull rot! Obama promised if you remember that the health care negotiations for health care legislation would be aired openly on C-SPAN, so the folks could see what was going on and how it affected them. WRONG. Instead, most has been done behind closed doors. Obama declared in his speech that he and his staff excluded lobbyists from policy-making jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions. However, once again this was a proven lie. http://bit.ly/UJs5y http://teaparty.org
4
POPSMedia Descends on Nashville for First National Tea Party Convention the Republican Party for over a year. “After the 2008 elections, we’ve proclaimed them dead,” Andrea Murta of the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper said. “But the tea party has very strong appeal, a populist appeal, that my newspaper is interested in,” she said. Murta said her paper is especially interested in knowing, “who are the people that are behind this.” Other international media, Skoda said, are coming from Germany, Croatia and Japan. Organizers say the delegates “will be able to speak with reporters, be interviewed and be given a voice in a way that has not happened during the genesis of the Tea Party movement.” Organizers have also now arranged for 50 workstations and Wi-Fi for credentialed media and risers for cameramen. The convention, headlined by Palin on Saturday, has been criticized for its high ticket prices, which some say are keeping grassroots activists from attending. The convention " billed as a way to bring together loosely aligned group concerned ....
11
POPSA Graceful And Gallant Man—Mr. President, I Salute You Ronald Reagan helped America " and so America could help the world - because he rejected that approach. He believed, and he never stopped proclaiming, that the talents of a nation, not the wisdom of bureaucracy, forge a country’s greatness. Let our children grow tall " he urged - then they can reach out to raise others higher too. For our opponents, there are always a hundred reasons why the government must intervene to plan its children’s lives. For us, there’s one overwhelming reason why it shouldn’t " because men and women are born to be free. The world isn’t much used to hearing that kind of message now. We live in an era of sound bites and spin doctors, of false sentiment and real cynicism. That’s why just reading " or hearing as we shall - the words of Ronald Reagan is so refreshing. They remind us that men and women were born for high ideals and noble purposes. They remind us, too, that the world which so many now take for granted was won by struggle. ....
8
POPSObama About to Raise Taxes on 95% of All Americans The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010. If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated. Investors will pay more on their earnings next year as well, with the tax on dividends jumping to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increasing to 20 percent from 15 percent. The estate tax is eliminated this year, but it will return in 2011 --
6
POPS The Nuclear Bluff Obama budget exposes nuclear lie http://michellemalkin.com In his State of the Union Address, President Obama purported to reach across the aisle by endorsing a “new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants”…before pushing cap and trade. The nearly $4 trillion budget he released today exposes his nuclear lie. President Barack Obama will propose eliminating funding for the Yucca Mountain project in a new budget he will submit to Congress on Monday, according to Nevada lawmakers who were notified over the weekend. It zeroes out funds for the besieged Yucca Mountain nuclear storage facility in Nevada " one of the few, prominent Obama campaign pledges that he looks like he’s actually fulfilling: Following the State of the Union, in a conference call with reporters on the same day the nuclear financing plan was unveiled, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the creation of a special panel to find a solution for storing nuclear waste.
Clips
Pops
Comments
Tags
Most Pops
Print
Save
Turn on live update