Quick Takes, June 02, 2011

ITEM: Don’t These Guys Have Copy Editors? Department: An AP headline (here): “French Minister Probed on Sex Allegations Resigns.” Well no wonder he resigned if they did THAT to him!

ITEM: Is This Cool Or What?! Department: A team at the University of Maryland recently succeeded in actually flying a human powered helicopter for ten seconds. So what? The pilot was a woman: Judy Wexler, a biology graduate student. Go here for the story and video. You’ll see why Judy could pull it off. You go, girl!

ITEM: Is it possible that conjoined twins could actually share not only certain brain structures, but a mind as well. Can they feel each other’s sensations? Know each other’s thoughts? Research on Krista and Tatiana Hogan raises those—and more--fascinating possibilities. Do read this story (here).

ITEM: Well, it’s official; the Senate voted 97-0 against Barack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget. Not a single Democrat supported it. But on the other hand, not a single Democrat has actually proposed a budget either, proving conclusively that something is not better than nothing, particularly when it’s dreamed up by Mr. Obama. Visit The Hill (here) for the entire mess.

ITEM: AG Eric Holder continues to investigate CIA personnel, who, acting on the specific advise of the Department of Justice, protected American lives during the Bush Administration. John Hindearaker at PowerLine (here) suggests that the only reasonable conclusion is that Mr. Obama is at war with America’s intelligence community. I agree. See if you do.

ITEM: Even while pretending to support full energy development, including nuclear power, Mr. Obama’s actions reveal him to be at war with American energy producers and workers. John Hinderaker provides revealing video here. Once again, I agree. You?

ITEM: Louis Renault Award, Illinois Division: Does anyone remember Rod Blagojevich? You remember? Former, disgraced governor of Illinois, currently on trial for corruption? I didn’t think so. He’s been very much out of sight and out of mind, likely because his trial could be very, very embarrassing to Mr. Obama who ran in the same circles and used at least some of the same money men, such as Tony Rezko, who, strangely, has not been put on the stand by prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. Visit Newsalert (here) which surmises that this state of affairs is an attempt by Mr. Fitzpatrick to protect Mr. Obama and various Chicago cronies. I’m shocked, shocked! to even contemplate such a thing. How could this be true, in Chicago, of all places?!

ITEM: One of the Obama Administrations tactics in delaying and denying oil exploration and drilling has been hysteria about alleged danger to groundwater by the hydraulic “fraccing” process, which makes recovering previously unobtainable oil economical and safe. Visit Hot Air (here) for one of those “oops!” moments when Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator admits under Congressional questioning that there is no evidence whatever to indicate any such groundwater contamination through fraccing. Well, at least Mr. Obama has put science back in its proper place: to be used in furthering environmentalist hyperbole and the destruction of the American economy.

PS: There is some debate among grammarians on precisely how to spell “fraccing.” As “frack” has entered the popular lexicon as a euphemism for the shorter slang version of “fornicate,” I’ll stick with “frac” and “fraccing.”

Bonus: One of the fastest ways to end any conversation is to suddenly and excitedly observe “You know, what you just said has fascinating grammatical possibilities!”

ITEM: He’s Out! Leftist Berkely law professor Goodwin Liu, nominated by President Obama for a position on the most leftist appeals court in the nation, the 9th Circuit, recently saw his nomination fail in the Senate. Liu has now formally withdrawn. Despite having none of the qualifications the American Bar Association requires, such as experience as a judge or having actually practiced law—Liu has done neither—he received its highest rating. This is a small, but decisive victory for the rule of law and the Constitution. See Fox News (here) for the story.

ITEM: So That’s The Problem! House Assistant Democratic leader James Clyburn, who happens to be black, on Mr. Obama’s problems:

“And I can tell you; people don’t like to deal with it, but the fact of the matter is, the president’s problems are in large measure because of the color of his skin…”

Uh, sorry Rep. Clyburn, but the problem is that many people consider him to be an incompetent Marxist. The overwhelming majority of Americans are proud that a black man could be elected president. They want their presidents, of any color and gender, to be successful, to be someone they and their children can respect. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama, by race-baiting, narcissism, arrogance, refusal to listen to the people and sheer lack of ability and insight has manufactured his own problems. Go here for the whole story.

ITEM: Well, At Least He’s Consistent! Barack Obama, the President who has made something of a career of insulting the British, fresh from his latest diplomatic debacle of badly botching a toast to the Queen, has once again behaved like, well, like himself. Rather than attend a Royal Society banquet in his honor where England’s most eminent scientists planned to honor him with a prestigious medal, Mr. Obama, the man who swore he would restore science to its rightful place in government—by, for instance, changing scientist’s views 180° to support his anti-oil policies in the gulf of Mexico—couldn’t be bothered. Go here for the story of our continuing “special relationship” with the British. One can’t help be suspect that Mr. Obama has a rather different definition of “special” than the British, or any of our other allies, for that matter.

ITEM: Snit Fits To Remember: I can just imagine the snit fit AG Eric Holder is having today. The US Supreme Court (story here) affirmed Arizona’s law that imposes sanctions on businesses that hire illegal immigrants. While this decision does not have a direct bearing on the ongoing suit brought against Arizona by the DOJ, it does suggest that the Supreme Court recognizes that immigration enforcement is not the exclusive province of the Federal Government. Take a stress pill Mr. Holder. Perhaps a change of career would be more relaxing?

ITEM: Female SEALS? It seems that in the aftermath of the takedown of Osama Bin Laden, some feminists believe that the Navy is discriminating against women because there are no female SEALs, except Demi Moore, of course, but I’m still harboring a vague suspicion that was only a movie and not a documentary. It’s so hard to tell these days. Visit the always interesting Heather McDonald at City Journal (here) for a story of Yale women who cannot be successful in college because some college boys were behaving, like, well, like college boys. McDonald suggests that this kind of whining hypersensitivity demonstrates that women—particularly of the feminist bent—may not, in fact, have the psychological wherewithal to function as SEALs. Indeed.

ITEM: Cass Sunstein to the Rescue! Sounds like a Jewish cowboy hero from the 50s, doesn’t it? Not quite. Sunstein is a leftist academic attorney who accepted a position as the czar of the “Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.” The brilliant Mark Steyn (here) exposes Sunstein and government regulatory excess generally. It has to do with the fact that the federal government has classified spilled cow’s milk as oil to be treated as any petroleum spill. I’m not kidding. Read the whole article. Git along little doggies!

ITEM: How much does the average family spend on gasoline per month? Last month it was $369, compared with $201 in April, 2009. And gentle readers it’s not Mr. Obama’s fault and he can’t do anything about it, but he really, really supports drilling and exploration and nuclear power. Really. He said so. Go here for more discouraging details. Question: Why haven’t Americans already run every Washington Democrat and environmental weenie out of DC? How high will gas prices have to rise to get a rise out of them? $5.00? $10.00? Discuss.

ITEM: Uh, Doesn’t That Actually Mean “illegal?” Go to Michelle Malkin (here) where Doug Powers comments on a recent talk by DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Wasserman Schultz is apparently upset that those nasty Republicans actually want to enforce federal immigration laws, you know, the kind that apply to “undocumented immigrants?”

ITEM: Basic Economics 101: Let’s review, gentle readers. If you make $5000 per month, and spend $100,000 per month, you are in…? Economic deep doo-doo! That’s right! Good job! Would it be a surprise that you would be in economic trouble now and well into the future? According to Michael Barone in the Washington Examiner (here) this sort of utterly predictable consequence of lunatic spending and destructive economic policies is a continual source of amazement to Mr. Obama’s base, the Lamestream Media. Do read the article for a glimpse into campaign 2012 where Mr. Obama’s base will leave no ethical wall standing in an attempt to ensure his reelection.

ITEM: Remember when GM announced that it had paid off its government loans? Remember that it turned out that GM actually used money from a government line of credit—another loan-- to “pay off” the first loan? Remember how you realized that GM was engaging in what is commonly called “lying” because they did not actually reduce their debt to the taxpayers at all? Well, now it’s Chrysler’s turn. Hot Air (here) sums up their loan pay-off shenanigans:

“So, to recap, the Obama Energy Department is loaning a foreign car company [Fiat, Chrysler’s partner] $3.5 billion so that it can pay the Treasury Department $7.6 billion even though American taxpayers spent $13 billion to save an American car company [Chrysler] that is currently only worth $5 billion.”

Read the whole thing—if you have the stomach for it.

ITEM: Payback Comes in Unexpected Ways: Remember that shortly after becoming President, Mr. Obama reneged on our agreement to provide an anti-missile shield that would have protected Poland, among other Eastern European nations. Remember that he pulled the rug out from under the Poles on the anniversary of the very day that the Poles were invaded and conquered by the Russians? Unsurprisingly, the Poles were not impressed and inexplicably came to feel that America under Obama would be, at best, an unreliable ally. Enter Lech Walesa (here), Nobel Prize winner and George Washington-like figure in Polish history, who given the opportunity to meet with Mr. Obama, declined, noting that he really didn’t want to be used as a prop in a photo op. That’s statesmanship and common sense. Such are the results of alienating your allies while trying to appease your enemies. Desperately trying to be liked should be reserved for adolescents. It has no place in a dangerous world. Be sure you visit Chris Muir’s excellent Day By Day cartoon on this issue (here).

ITEM: Via Fox News (here) Mr. Obama has announced his new pick to lead the Commerce Department: John Bryson, former CEO of Edison International, which is billed as “a California-based energy company.” Bryson co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council and “served on a United Nations advisory group on energy and climate change.” Uh, right. Correct me if I’m missing something, but isn’t promoting climate change—on behalf of the UN, for Pete’s sake!-- and co-founding a rabid environmental group pretty much diametrically opposed to promoting commerce in every way? Would we expect anything else from Mr. Obama? The more we hope for change, the more things stay the same.

ITEM: Continuing News From The Religion of Peace: Iranian Ayatollah Mohammed Taghi Mesbah has issued a Fatwa—religious edict—authorizing the killing of enemies of Islam, particularly Israelis of all ages. Go here for the peaceful, diverse and tolerant story.

ITEM: Even More News From The Religion of Peace: An Egyptian General has admitted (here) that during recent democracy demonstrations in Egypt, women were beaten, tortured and subjected to “virginity tests,” ostensibly so that they couldn’t claim they were raped. Apparently worried about claims of beatings and torture weren’t considered as important. Remember, gentle readers, these, and people like them, are reflexively supported by our current President and his administration.

ITEM: More News From the Religion of Peace. It is difficult for Americans to realize that in Islam, there is no separation of Church and State. Many Muslims, regardless of where they live, identify, first last and always, as Muslims. They may or may not claim any national identity, but even if they do, it will be at best a distant second to their status as a Muslim. For such people, there is no such thing as secular law or religious tolerance. An example is the tragic tale of Katya Koren, a 19 year old Muslim living in the Ukraine who dared to enter a beauty contest. It cost her life; she was stoned to death. Go here to read the entire story.

ITEM: Wisconsin’s Long, National Nightmare Is Finally Over…whoops! I was thinking about Nixon. Periodic flashbacks, you know. “I am not a crook!” Horrifying! Sorry. What has actually happened is that JoAnn Kloppenburg has finally conceded the Wisconsin Supreme Court election to Incumbent Justice David Prosser. After the recount netted her only an additional 300 votes, still leaving Prosser with a margin of more than 7000 votes, Kloppenberg still had the option of filing an additional legal challenge, but finally bowed out. Presumably, a slam- dunk Wisconsin Supreme Court decision against Governor Walker’s union reforms is no longer in the cards, but the union war continues (here).

ITEM: Could the Dems who run California actually do anything fiscally responsible? Well, sort of. Maybe. At Hot Air (here) we learn that CA authorities petitioned the Obama Department of transportation for some flexibility in the way that they implement a HS rail project beloved by the Obamites. Is anyone surprised that the answer was not only no, but hell no? It seems that the CA Dems might actually be realizing that the project might stick them with untold billions in continuing debt into eternity. Hmm. Does this mean they might actually do something affirmative to avoid running off the the bankruptcy cliff? I doubt it, but…Discuss.

ITEM: Nominations For the Most Ironic Use of The Suffix “Gate” for 2011 Are Officially Closed! WEINERGATE, WEINERGATE, WEINERGATE! Go here for the latest. You know, some bloggers would use this prominent scandal to get a cheap rise out of their readers. Yes, they’d whip a flaccid story into something of real prominence, filled with turgid, throbbing prose and gratuitous references to flag poles, obelisks and sausages. And that’s not the wurst, no! Some bloggers, bulging with self-righteousness, would erect virtual Washington Monuments to the rigid symbolism inherent in this flagging tale, or, the other side, as it may be. They’d mix metaphors and throw their organs into the ring before the fat lady sings and breaks the camel’s back. But not here at CY, no sir! Still, I can’t seem to get the Oscar Meyer Wiener Song out of my mind…

And on that spine and other part-stiffening note, I must, once again, thank you for stopping by and urge you, yet again, to visit us next Thursday for another edition of Quick Takes, where we leave no wiener unsung!